GIFT  OF 
Vlda  Redinaton  Volkhard 


t.  Lena  Redlnston  Carlto 


ARTi 


PRICE,  50  GTS. 


THE 


CENTENNIAL 


1776 


1876 


Of  THE  S 


OF     THE 


DECLARATION  OF  HBlPllBlNlft 


WITH 


FAC-SIMILE   AUTOGRAPHS,    ILLUSTRATIONS,    PORTRAITS,  ETC.,    ETC. 


BY 


WM.    BROTHERHEAD. 


PHILADELPHIA: 


J.  M.  STODDART  &  CO. 


COUNTRY  LIBRARIES, 

Book  Clubs  and  Societies  of  all  Kinds, 


In  our  sparsely  populated  country  the  means  for  obtaining  knowledge  are  often  very  few,  -aris 
ing  from  various  causes.  The  first,  and  most  important,  is  the  great  cost  •  secondly,  the  knowledge 
required  in  the  selection ;  and,  thirdly,  the  proper  time  for  some  one  who  may  have  the  knowledge  to 
go  a  long  distance  and  select  them.  My  method  will  obviate,  to  a  great  extent,  all  these  difficulties. 

I  propose  to  supply  Country  Libraries  and  Book  Clubs  from  a  selection  of  over  30,000  volumes  of 
the  best  books  in  the  language.  As  to  my  success  in  this  business  I  may  refer  to  five  libraries  I  have 
established — one  at  Pottsville,  West  Chester,  Wilkesbarre,  New  York,  and  the  one  in  this  city,  by  far 
the  largest  in  the  United  States.  I  not  only  purchase  every  book  of  value  published  here,  but  also  import 
more  English  books  than  any  librarian  in  the  country.  My  selection  of  novels  is  by  far  the  most 
numerous  and  the  most  choice  of  any  library  on  this  continent. 

BOOK  CLUBS  are  designed  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  knowledge ;  and  as  it  is  impossible  for  one 
person,  however  able,  to  purchase  every  new  book,  this  object  will  in  a  great  measure  be  accomplished 
for  a  very  small  sum  of  money.  Over  30,000  volumes  of  books,  comprising  every  department  of  Liter 
ature,  including  over  5,000  volumes  in  French,  are  ready  and  in  active  use  for  any  Club  or  Library  of 
five  or  more  persons  to  select  from. 


Five  in  one  Club,  $5  each— 15  books  allowed  at  one  time. 
A  club  of  ten,  30  books,  and  so  on,  adding  three  books  to  every  subscriber. 
Clubs  must  pay  all  express  charges,  which  will  not  be  more  for  a  club  than  if  sent  to  one  person. 
One  week  or  one  month  will  be  allowed  for  the  exchange  of  books. 
Catalogues  can  be  had  at  50  cents  each. 

If  NEW  BOOKS  are  required,  they  must  in  ALL  cases  be  returned  in  TWO  WEEKS.  Books  are  considered 
old  six  months  after  publication. 

Clubs  must  in  all  cases  send  their  money  in  advance,  and  select  from  Catalogue  the  books  required. 
Always  send  by  mail,  in  ADVANCE  of  parcel,  say  twenty  or  thirty  numbers  of  books  more  than  wanted, 
so  as  to  secure  all  they  may  require.  Address  (inclosing  stamp) 

W.  BROTHEBHEAD, 

205  South.  13th,  St.,  Philadelphia. 

P.  S.  Persons  from  the  city  during  the  summer  months  can  make  arrangements  for  a  shorter 
period  than  one  year. 


THE 


CENTENNIAL 

BOOK  OF  THE  SIGNERS 

BEINC. 

FAC-SIMILE  LETTERS  OF  EACH  SIGNER 

OF  THE 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 
Illustrated  with  One  Hundred  Engravings 

oy 

PORTRAITS,  VIEWS,  ETC., 

INCLUDING  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL  DESIGNS,  COLORED  KY  HAND: 


A    HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH    AND   A   HISTORY   OF   THE 

CENTENNIAL   EXHIBITION. 


BY  W.  BROTHERHEAD, 
n 

LIBRARIAN, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "BOOK  OF  THK  SIGNERS,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


PHILADELPHIA  i 

J.    M.    STODDART   &   CO. 


? 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in 

WM.  BROTHERHEAD; 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


,™     Stcr(i?tyP<:d  and  Printed 
NQUIRER  PRINT.  AND  PuB  C 

Lancaster,  Pa. 


THIS  VOLUME 

Is  respectfully  Dedicated  to 

FERDINAND   J.  DREER, 

ROBERT   COULTON    DAVIS, 

AND  SIMON   GRATZ,  ESQUIRES, 

Because  of  their 

LOVE   AND   TRUE   APPRECIATION   OF   BOOK-LORE, 

Especially  for  all  matters  relating  to 

AMERICAN  HISTORY,  ITS  AUTOGRAPHS,  COINS,  BOOKS, 
AND    PICTORIAL  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

THANKS 

Are  tendered  to  them  for  the  use  of  many  Letters 
of  the  Signers,  used  in  this  Volume. 

W.  BROTHERHEAD. 

Philadelphia,  August  15,  1875. 


723528 


PREFACE. 


The  author  has  determined  that  a  work  worthy  of  the  occasion,  and  of  the 
most  national  character,  shall  do  honor  to  the  Signers.  In  this  work  are 
fac-simile  letters  of  each  Signer,  thirteen  colored  original  national  designs,  a 
history  of  each  of  the  original  thirteen  states,  a  brief  biography  of  each  Signer, 
a  history  of  the  Hall  in  which  the  Declaration  was  signed,  a  copious  catalogue 
of  the  portraits  of  the  Signers,  a  history  of  the  development  of  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  with  numerous  appropriate  illustrations  and  various  views  of  a 
historical  and  national  interest,  comprising  monuments,  residences,  etc.  Such 
are  the  distinctive  features,  and,  though  no  special  claim  is  made  for  recondite 
research  in  the  national  archives,  which  a  Bancroft  has  exhausted,  yet  it  is 
modestly  asserted  by  the  author  that  he  has  collected  together  from  many 
sources,  valuable  matter  which  is  illustrative  of  the  history  of  the  country, 
and  which  has  never  before  appeared  in  such  a  form.  Several  portraits  appear 
in  this  work  for  the  first  time ;  they  are  copied  from  photographs  taken  from  the 
portraits  in  the  Independence  Hall.  It  is  intended  as  a  vade  mecum  for  those 
who  take  an  interest  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  founders  of  our  Republic. 
Who  is  there  amongst  us  that,  at  least,  does  not  revere  all  matters  connected 
with  the  birth  of  his  country?  We  do  not  refer  to  the  4th  of  July 
exhibitions  —  to  "  spread-eagle-isms"  —  but  to  the  steadfast  love  of  country 
that,  in  the  hour  of  need,  banishes  self,  and  gives  soul  and  means  to  prevent 
its  destruction.  This  silent  leverage  of  society,  though  despised  by  the 
boisterous  politician,  is,  in  all  societies,  a  conservative  element  whose  value 
is  unknown  until  some  great  emergency  calls  it  into  activity.  This  element 
in  our  society  is,  year  by  year,  becoming  more  powerful  by  its  very  silence. 
It  has  no  organization,  it  does  not  boast  of  newspaper  organs,  it  has  no 
power  in  Washington,  no  "wire-puller"  of  any  kind  —  it  patiently  and 
silently  watches  the  current  of  events  year  by  year,  and  when  action  is 
necessary,  its  instincts  act  in  harmony,  from  Maine  to  California,  without 
any  visible  preconcerted  unison  of  action;  and  recognizing  neither  Republican 
nor  Democrat,  it  throws  its  influence  into  the  ballot-box,  and  awaits  calmly 
the  results.  A  country  possessing  this  Anglo-Saxon  conservative  element, 
will  never  cease  to  exist. 

The  writer  tenders  his  thanks  to  various  friends  for  assistance,  many  of 
whose  names  are  appended  to  the  fac-simile  letters;  but  are  especially 
herewith  tendered  to  his  son,  Alfred  P.  Brotherhead,  author  of  "  Himself 
His  Worst  Enemy,"  for  valuable  assistance  rendered. 

Philadelphia,    April,    1875. 


CONTENTS. 


2 

1-8 
9-27 

27-34 
34-42 
42-44 
44-46 


Preface,    ..•••• 

Contents,      ...••• 
Essays  on  Portraits, 
History  of  Centennial  Exhibition, 
Historical  Monograph  —  General, 
Domestic  Condition  in  1776  and  1876, 
Literature  in  1776  and  1876, 
"         Theology, 
"          History,        .... 

Novels  ......       40-49 

"         Humorous  Fiction        .         .  49~5° 

Poetry  ......       S°~Sl 

General  Literature,       .         .  Sl~S2 

Law  ......  52 

"         Arts  and  Sciences,         .          •  52"54 

Brief  History  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States,  55-91 
Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration 

of  Independence  .....  92-120 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  Congress,  121-131 
Where  was  the  Declaration  of  Independ 

ence  Written?  ....        i32-!37 

The  Declaration—  Where  Written,    .         .   138-14' 
History  of  Independence   Hall  —  with  two 

views,       ......         142-145 

The  Old  Square,      .....   145-146 

The  Old  Bell,  Illustration,    .         .          .         146-14? 
The  Interior  .......    147-15° 

Views  of  the  five  Centennial  Buildings, 

with  Descriptive  Matter,  .         .         . 
John    Hancock  —  Letter,  with    Views    of 

His  Residence,  the  Desk  on  which  the 

Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed 

and  three  of  the  Signers'  Chairs,  . 

New  Hampshire,  Colored  view  of  Ports 

mouth,     ...... 

Josiah  Bartlett,  Letter  and  Portrait,  . 

Gen'l.  Wm.  Whipple,  Letter  and  Residence, 
Matthew  Thornton,         "         "  " 

Massachusetts  —  Colored  View  of  Boston, 
Samuel  Adams,  Letter  and  Portrait,     . 
John  Adams,         "  "          "  also 

View  of  the  liirthplace  of  J.  and  J.  Q. 

Adams  .......   175-176 

Robert  Treat  Paine,  Letter  and  Portrait,  1/7 

Elbridge  Gerry,  "          "         " 

also  View  of  his  Residence,  Elmwood,  179 

Rhode  Island  —  Colored  View  of  Newport,  181 

Stephen    Hopkins,    Letter,    with    Portrait 

and  Monument,         ....  183 

William  Ellery   Letter,  with  Portrait,         .  185 

Connecticut  —  ColoredView  of  New  Haven,  187 

Roger  Sherman,  Letter,  with   Portrait  and 

View  of  Residence,  .  .  .  189-190 
Samuel  Huntington,  Letter,  with  Portrait 

and  View  of  Residence,         .          .          .  191 

William  Williams,   Letter,  with  View   of 

his  Residence,  ....  193 

Oliver  Walcott,  Letter,  with  Portrait  and 

View  of  Residence,      ....  195 

New  York  —  Colored  view  of  New  York,  197 

William  Floyd,    Letter  and  Portrait,    .  199 

Phil.  Livingston,    "         "          "  .  201 

Francis  Lewis,        "         "          "  .  203 

Lewis  Morris,         "         "         "  .  205 

New  Jersey  —  Colored  View  of  Trenton,  207 

Richard    Stockton,    Letter,  with  View  of 

his  Residence,  ....  209 

John   Witherspoon,   Letter,  with   View  of 

his  Residence,  .....  211—212 
Francis  Hopkinson,  Letter,  with  Portrait 

and  View  of  his  Residence,       .          .  213 

John  Hart,  Letter,  with  Monument,  .  215 


151-160 


161 

163 

165 
167 
169 
171 
173 


A.  Clark,  Letter,  with  Portrait,      .          .  217 
Pennsylvania — Colored     View     of     Phil 
adelphia 219 

Robert  Morris,  Letter,  with  Views  of   his 

Mansion,  also  that  of  Washington,  221 

Benjamin   Rush,  Letter,  with  View  of  the 

"  Shippen  Mansion,"        .         .         .  223 

Benjamin    Franklin,  Letter,  with  View  of 

his  Burial  Place 225 

John   Morton,  Letter,  with   View  of   his 

Residence 227 

George   Clymer,  Letter,  with  View  of  his 

Residence, 229 

James  Smith,  Letter,  with  View   of  Resi 
dence 231-232 

George  Taylor,  Letter,  with  View  of  Resi 
dence 233 

James  Wilson,  Letter,  with  View  of  Res 
idence,  also,  Signature  of  IS.  Franklin,  235 
Geo.  Ross,  Letter,  with  View  of  Residence,  237 
Delaware — Colored  View  of  Wilmington,  238 
Crcsar  Rodney,  Letter,  with  View  of  Res 
idence,     ......                 239 

G.  Read,  Letter,  with  View  of  Residence 

and  Portrait,          .....  241 

Gov.  Thomas  McKean,  Letter,  with  View 

of  Residence,  ....  243 

Maryland — Colored  View  of  Baltimore,  .  245 

Samuel  Chase,  Letter,  with  View  of  Resi 
dence,      ......  247 

Wm   Paca,  Letter,  with  View  of  Residence,  249 

Thos.  Stone,     "         "       "       "          "  251 

Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  Letter,  with 

Portrait  and  View  of  Residence,  .  253 

Virginia — Colored   View   of  the   City   of 

Norfolk,. 255 

George    Wythe,  Letter,  with  Portrait   and 

View  of  Residence,       ....  257 

Richard  II.  Lee,  with  View  of  the  Birth 
place  of  R.  H.  and  F.  L.  I.ee,  .  259 
Thomas    Jefferson,   Letter,  with    View    of 
"  Monticello,"  and  the  House  in  which 
Thomas  Jefferson  wrote  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,          ...           .  261 

Benjamin    Harrison,  Letter,  with    Portrait 

and  view  of  Residence,     .          .         *  263 

Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  Letter,  with  View  of 

Residence,    ......  265 

F.  Lightfoot  Lee,  Letter,  with  View  of  Res 
idence,      ......  267 

Carter  Braxton,  Letter,  with  View  of  Res 
idence,  ......  269 

North   Carolina — Colored   View    of  Wil 
mington,  .  271 
\V.  Hooper,  Letter,  with  View  of  Residence,           273 
Joseph  Hewes,  Letter,  with  Portrait,           .  275 
John  Penn,  Letter.  withView  of  Residence,            277 
South  Carolina — Colored  View  of  Charles 
ton,            ......  279 

Edward    P^jtledge,   Letter,  with    View   of 

Residence,    ......  281 

Thomas    I  ley  ward,  Jr.,  Letter,  with  View 

of  Residence,  .....  283 

Thomas  Lynch,  Jr.,  Letter,  with   Portrait,  285-286 
Arthur  Middleton,  Letter,  with  Residence,  287 

Georgia — Colored  View  of  Savannah,        .  290 

Button  Gwinnett,   Document,  with    Duel 

Scene,      ......  291 

Lyman  Hall,  Letter,  with  Portrait,  .  293 

George  Walton,  Letter,  with  View,        .  295 

Charles  Thomson,  Secretary  to  Congress, 

Leiter,  with  View  and  Portrait,      .         ,  297 


PORTRAITS  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 


PORTRAITS  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 


Much    discussion    has  taken    place,    and    will     no    doubt   continue,    relative 
to    the    genuineness     of    many    of    the    portraits.       The    committee     for     the 
restoration    of    Independence    Hall    have    given    much    time    and    attention    to 
the    matter,  and  are    in  a  fair    way  of  becoming   the    means    of   restoring    and 
collecting  together    either  the  original    portraits    of  many  of  the  Signers,  or  at 
least   copies    from  such    originals.      We    shall    place   our   views    on    record,  and 
endeavor,  at  least,  to   classify  such  evidences  as  cannot  easily  be  thrown  aside, 
and    which    will    tend    to    prove    that    the    portraits    of    the    Signers    which    we 
possess  in  the   Hall   of   Independence  are  as   certainly  genuine  as  are   most  of 
the  portraits  under  similar  conditions,  and  which  conditions,  in  the  cases  speci 
fied  have  never  been  denied.     It  is  an  historic  fact,  that  Trumbull  was  authorized 
by  Congress,  in    1817,  to  fill  four  compartments  of  the  Rotunda   in  the   Capitol 
at  Washington;    each   compartment    is    18    by    12    feet.     In    one  of  those    com 
partments    is    "The     Declaration    of    Independence."      Trumbull    spent    several 
years   of  his   life   in   England,  and  was  a  pupil   of   B.  West.      "  In  the  autumn 
of  1789  he  returned  to  America  to  procure   likenesses   of  distinguished   patriots 
for    a  contemplated    series    of   national    pictures,    commemorating    the    principal 
events    of    the    Revolutionary    struggle;    and,    while    thus   engaged,   he    painted 
several   portraits    of   Washington,    one    of    which,    full    length    and    in    uniform, 
is  in  the   collection   of    the    corporation    of    New   York    city.       Having   accom 
plished    his    object,    he  went,    in    1794,   to    England,    as   secretary   to    Mr.   Jay, 
the    American    Minister.      When    the    Congress,  in    1817,    authorized    Trumbull 
to  paint   the   four  pictures,    they    knew   of    his   ability    as    an    artist,    and    were 
cognizant  of  his   European   reputation.     There  can  also  be  little  doubt  but  that 
Congress  knew  that  his  object   in   returning    from    Europe    in    1789  to  his  own 
country  was    to   collect   as    many  portraits    of    living   actors    in    the    past    Rev 
olution    as    he    possibly    could.        Congress,    therefore,    felt    itself     justified     in 
entrusting    him    with   its    orders.     By  referring   to    the    dates    of  the  deaths    of 
the    Signers,  it   will    be    seen    that   the    following    died    prior   to    1789:    Button 
Gwinnet,  of  whom  there  is   no   portrait;    John   Hart,  of  whom  there  is  no    por 
trait;  Thomas  Lynch,  of  whom  there  is  a  portrait,  as  it  is  promised,  we  presume 
by  one  of  the    family,  to    the    Hall  of    Independence ;    John    Penn  and   Csesar 
Rodney,  of  whom  there  are  portraits;  R.  Stockton,  of  whom  there  is  a  portrait, 
Connaroe,  after  — ,  in    the  Hall;    and    W.  Whipple,    of    whom    there    is 


vi  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

a  portrait.  Button  Gwinnet  and  John  Mart  arc  not  in  Trumbull's  "Decla 
ration  of  Independence."  Eight  others  are.  The  portrait  of  Thomas  Lynch, 
Jr.,  is  promised  to  the  Hall ;  we  do  not  learn  who  is  the  painter.  Robert 
Stockton's  is  in  the  Hall,  painted  by  Connaroe,  after  There  are 

six  portraits  on  the  "  Declaration  of  Independence"  which  could  not  have 
been  taken  from  life  by  Trumbull  in  1789,  because  the  men  were  deceased 
before  that  time.  Then  how  are  we  to  solve  the  problem,  even  though  it  be 
narrowed  down  to  so  fine  a  point  ? 

Is  it  not  fair  to  assume  that  an  artist  of  Trumbull's  reputation,  bearing 
in  mind  various  other  pictures  painted  by  him,  was  a  conscientious  man? 
and  that  the  eight  portraits  which  are  in  his  pictures,  though  they  could 
not  have  been  taken  from  life,  were  copied  from  portraits  in  the  possession 
either  of  the  existing  families  or  from  friends  ?  Might  there  not  have  been 
some  rambling  artist  like  the  French  St.  Memin,  who  was  here  about  that 
time,  and  executed  silhouettes  of  hundreds  of  persons?  We  assert  that 
Trumbull  could  not  afford  to  affix  a  falsehood  to  such  a  national  picture, 
when  hundreds,  living  at  the  time  he  painted  it,  knew  the  whole  of  the  eight 
persons  and  could  have  been  able  to  identify  all  of  them.  Have  we  any 
contemporary  protest  against  the  untruthfulness  of  the  portraits?  If  so,  it 
has  not  yet  come  within  our  knowledge. 

Edmund  Savage  engraved  Washington's  portrait  in  1789.  A  portrait 
painter  of  the  name  of  Smith,  and  one  of  the  name  of  Polke,  painted  Wash 
ington's  portrait.  Robert  Edge  Pine  is  well  known  as  a  portrait  painter.  He 
had  a  similar  project  to  that  of  Trumbull,  and  painted  the  portrait  of  Thomas 
Hopkinson ;  also  the  portraits  of  General  Gates,  Charles  Carroll,  Baron  Steuben ; 
and  he  remained  several  weeks  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  painted  the  portrait  of 
Washington.  Such  other  artists  as  Sharpless,  Westmuller,  Martin  Gallagher, 
Robertson,  Belzoni  Roberts,  and  Malcolm  Earle  were  portrait  painters. 
Mathew  Pratt,  in  1788,  painted  the  prominent  members  of  the  Convention 
of  1788,  and  they  figured  as  a  sign  at  the  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Fourth 
streets,  Philadelphia,  and  the  portraits  were  all  identified  by  crowds  of 
spectators. — See  Historical  Magazine  1859-60.  Edward  Wright  also  painted 
a  portrait  of  Washington.  C.  W.  Peale  is  well  known.  John  Hazlitt  also 
painted  portraits.  T.  Earle  painted  portraits  in  Connecticut  in  1775,  and 
painted  portraits  of  many  distinguished  persons.  He  studied  with  West,  and 
returned  to  this  country  in  1786,  and  painted  Roger  Sherman,  and  probably 
many  other  statesmen  of  that  time.  He  painted  Mr.  Alexander  Hamilton  in 
1787.  W.  Dunlap,  the  well-known  author,  also  painted  portraits.  In  the 
summer  of  1783  he  painted  the  portrait  of  Washington.  The  portraits  which 
he  painted  are  numerous.  Robert  Fulton,  the  first  who  successfully  applied 
steam  to  vessels,  also  was  a  portrait  painter  in  New  York,  in  1785. 

The    above    were    all  portrait    painters    contemporaries   of  one    or    more,   if 


PORTRAITS    OF    THE   SIGNERS.  vii 

not   of  all   the  Signers — hence,  is  it  not   in   accordance  with   the   character   and 
position   of   Trumbull   to  assume  that  what  portraits    he    had    not  got  of   the 
Signers    were    in    the    possession    of  the    artists    named,    and    were     given     to 
him    to    use    for    such  a  grand    national    object?      To    assume    they    did    not, 
would    be    contrary    to    our   knowledge     of    the    customs    and    courtesies    one 
artist  extends    to   another.     The   name   of   Gilbert    Stuart   is  a   household   word. 
Trumbull,    in    his    autobiography,    makes    clear    many  points    which    would 
otherwise  be  of  little  weight.     At  page    147,  he  writes:  "I  resumed  my   labors, 
however,  and    went    on    with   my    studies  of  other  subjects    of  the  history    of 
the    Revolution,    arranged    carefully    the    composition    for    the    'Declaration    of 
Independence,'  and    prepared    it    for    receiving  the  portraits  as   I    met  with    the 
distinguished    men    who   were  present    at   that    illustrious   scene."     Again,  page 
144: — 1790:      "In  May,  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  I  obtained   some  portraits 
for  my  great  work.  *  *  *   In  September  I   went  into  the  country,    passed  some 
time   with   my   family,  then   went  on   to    Boston   and   New   Hampshire,  obtained 
heads    of   several    statesmen   and    military  officers   for  my   great    work,    and    in 
Boston   received  a    handsome  addition   to    my    list  of    subscribers.     I    returned 
through   Connecticut  to   Philadelphia,  to   which   place  Congress    had  adjourned 
from  New  York.     In  February  I  went  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  there 
obtained    portraits    of   the     Rutledges,    Pinckncys,    Middleton,    Laurcns,    Hey- 
ward,  etc.,  and  a  handsome    addition    to  my  list   of  subscribers.       On    the    I7th 
of   April,   I    sailed   for   Yorktown    in    Virginia,    and   there   made    a  drawing    of 
the    spot   where    the    British    army,    commanded    by    Lord    Cornwallis,    surren 
dered    in    1781  ;    then    rode    to  Williamsburg   and    obtained  a  drawing   of    Mr. 
Wythc    for    the    'Declaration.'"       General    Washington,    in    a    letter    written    in 
Philadelphia,    November     2ist,    1791,    wrote    to     General     Lafayette,    in     Paris, 
desiring    him    to    forward  the    plans  of   Trumbull  in    publishing   his    engraving 
of    the     "Declaration    of    Independence  :"•-"  His   piect>s,    so    far    as    they   are 
executed,    meet   the   approval    of  all  who  have  seen    them.     The    greatness    of 
the   design,  and   the   masterly  execution  of  the  work,   interest  equally  the   man 
of  capacious   mind,  and  the  approving  eye   of  the  connoisseur."     Yale   College 
purchased    a  very  large    number    of   duplicate    paintings  which    he    had    made 
and    they    published    a    catalogue    of    them    many   years   ago.      This    catalogue 
is   published    in    the    appendix    to    Trumbull's    autobiography,    page   408.     It    is 
stated — "  All    saw    the    correctness    of  the    portraits    (Declaration    of    Independ 
ence).     Many   knew  the   accuracy  of  the   countenances   recorded."     During  the 
investigation    relative    to    this    subject,    we    have    found    but    one  record    of    one 
of  the  portraits — that  of  B.  Harrison,  of  Virginia — where  there  can  be  any  doubt. 
In    page    367    of    his   autobiography,    in  a    letter    written    to   General   Harrison, 
New   York,  February    i8th,    1818,  he    states:  "Dear  Sir:    Since  I   wrote  to  you 
last,   I-  have  inquired  of  Mr.  Peale,  and  have  received  for   answer   that    he  pos 
sesses    no   portrait    of    your    father    in    his    museum.       My    sole    reliance    must, 


VI 11 


PORTRAITS    OF   THE   SIGNERS. 


therefore,  be  on  such  description  as  you  and  his  friend,  Colonel  Meade,  of 
Kentucky,  can  furnish  me."  Trumbull  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  system ; 
and  as  this  mention  of  B.  Harrison's  portrait  is  the  only  one  among  the  forty- 
six  he  included  in  his  picture,  it  is  but  fair  and  logical  to  assume  that  he  did 
not  meet  with  any  material  obstacle  in  the  collection  of  the  rest  of  the  portraits, 
or  certainly,  as  in  the  preceding  case,  records  of  such  obstacles  would  be 
found.  It  may  be  just  to  assume,  that,  had  he  chosen  to  take  the  too  common 
license  indulged  in  by  some  artists,  he  would  have  omitted  altogether  the 
items  concerning  Harrison's  portrait.  The  portrait  of  Harrison  being  in 
the  "  Declaration  of  Independence,"  it  is  assumed  that  a  personal  descrip 
tion  of  him  had  been  obtained  from  General  Harrison  and  Colonel  Meade; 
that  a  drawing  based  upon  such  description  was  submitted  to  them,  and  by 
them  approved.  In  the  case  of  the  death  of  a  person,  we  know  that  this 
unsatisfactory  method  has  been  adopted  frequently ;  and  is  it  not  better  that 
we  should  have  a  portrait  of  Harrison  under  these  conditions  than  have 
none  at  all?  In  court,  the  evidence  adduced  that  Trumbull's  portraits  of 
the  Signers  were  trustworthy  would  be  not  only  fully  admitted,  but  would 
prove  that,  with  the  exception  of  Harrison's,  they  were  either  from  life  by 
himself,  or  copied  from  reliable  portraits;  and  had  he  designed  to  palm  off 
fictitious  or  ideal  ones,  he  would  not  have  written  the  record  which  he  did, 
relative  to  the  portrait  specially  referred  to.  The  absence  of  contemporary 
evidence  that  any  allegations  ever  existed  against  their  genuineness  would 
have  great  weight  in  any  court. 

This  statement  will,  we  trust,  be  the  means  of  placing  an  unqualified  proof 
as  to  the  honesty  of  Trumbull,  and  the  genuineness  of  the  portraits  in  the 
"Declaration  of  Independence." 


CENTENNIAL 


BOOK  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 


HISTORY   OF 

THE   CENTENNIAL   EXHIBITION. 


Under  the  auspices  of  Prince  Albert,  in  England,  in 
1851,  it  may  fairly  be  asserted  that  the  era  of  great  national 
exhibitions  was  inaugurated.  Such  world's  fairs  are  the 
expression  of  a  modern  civilization  which,  embracing  in  its 
arms  all  mankind,  furthers  incalculably  the  progress  of  that 
wide  humanity  which  has  but  one  word  for  Patagonian  and 
Esquimaux — for  African,  Asiatic  and  European-— t<i.e ',  holy 
greeting,  brother.  Prior  to  1851,  other  and  smaller  :f;xhJ-: 
bitions  were  instituted  in  various  parts  of  both'  Europe 
and  America,  but  that  of  London  is  entitled  to  rank  as  the 
first  of  any  paramount  national  importance.  The  number 
of  exhibitors  exceeded  17,000,  and  the  exhibition  was  open 
during  144  days;  the  sum  total  of  the  number  of  visitors 
was  6,170,000,  averaging  4,356  per  dion.  The  sum  total  of 
the  receipts  for  admission  was  505, 107 /.  ($25,025,535),  and, 
after  the  deduction  of  all  expenses,  the  net  proceeds  were 
150,0007.  ($750,000.) 

In  1852,  similar  exhibitions  were  held  also  in  Cork,  Ire 
land,  and  in  our  own  metropolis  of  New  York. 

In  1855,  France  instituted  her  first  universal  exhibition 
in  Paris,  meeting  with  great  and  merited  success;  also,  prior 
to  this  period,  various  important,  though  not  universal,  exhi 
bitions  had  been  arranged  in  that  country,  and  tended 
efficiently  to  increase  her  internal  commerce  and  extend 
her  resources. 


2  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  London  Universal  Exhibition  of  1862  was  conducted 
on  a  grand  and  liberal  scale,  and  throughout  its  manage 
ment  and  duration  reflected  great  credit  on  our  kindred 
beyond  the  sea.  The  exhibition  in  Vienna,  in  1873,  was 
originated  in  a  spirit,  and  conducted  in  a  manner,  worthy 
of  Austria  in  her  palmiest  days;  but,  magnificiently  as  it 
was  developed— owing  to  sundry  causes  political  and  finan 
cial—the  splendid  scheme  was  a  partial  failure,  and  did  not 
bring  in  its  train  a  justly  deserved  pecuniary  success. 

America,  ever  onward  in  her  swift  march,  believing  thor 
oughly  in  the  perfectibility  of  all  things,  confident  in  her 
vast.- .-purposes  and  illimitable  resources — America  has  like- 
..wisfi.H'solVed  that  she>  too,  wil1  hold  a  universal  exhibition- 
;>aMvofki'sv'.fair  that  shall  commence  May  loth,  1876,  and  ter 
minate  on  the  following  November  loth.  How  few,  save 
by  reflection,  may  catch  even  a  glimmer  of  the  by-gone 
days?  Some  few  with  whose  acquaintance  we  are  honored 
are  old  enough  to  have  seen  Washington  in  the  streets  of 
this  city,  and  can  remember,  as  it  were,  the  echoes  ema 
nating  from  the  debates  of  the  First  Congress,  held  here 
during  the  troublous  times  from  1776  to  1783.  Our  Cen 
tennial  Exhibition  is  to  be  held  in  this  city,  the  Birth-place 
of  that  Liberty  which  is  the  daughter  of  each  of  the  Thir 
teen  States,  and  here  we  shall  gladly  enter  a  short  record 
of  its  conception  and  its  steady  growth.  The  origination 
of  the  idea  is  claimed,  with  more  or  less  justness,  by  many 
zealous  persons;  this,  however  being  simply  a  synoptical 
record  of  its  existence  in  a  material  form,  is  not  the  place  for 
the  registration  of  personal  controversy. 

The  first  record,   in    1871,  of   an  official   character,  is   the 


CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION.  3 

request  of  the  councils  of  Philadelphia,  also  of  the  legisla 
ture  of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Government  at  Washington, 
to  take  action  in  the  matter;  which  body,  after  mature 
deliberation,  passed  the  following  laws: 

NATIONAL  AUTHORITY. 

The  following  preamble  and  section  of  an  act  of  Con 
gress  indicates  the  character  of  this  Commission  and  its 
duties : 

THE   ACT    CREATING   THE   UNITED    STATES   CENTENNIAL 

COMMISSION. 

AN  ACT  to  provide  for  celebrating  the  One  Hundredth 
Anniversary  of  American  Independence,  by  holding  an 
International  Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Pro 
ducts  of  the  Soil  and  Mine,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
and  State  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred 
and  seventy-six. 

WHEREAS,  The  Declaration  of  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  was  prepared,  signed,  and  pro 
mulgated  in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-six, 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia;  and  whereas,  it  behooves  the 
people  of  the  United  States  to  celebrate,  by  appropriate 
ceremonies,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  this  memorable  and 
decisive  event,  which  constituted  the  fourth  day  of  July, 
Anno  Domini,  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  the 
birthday  of  the  nation;  and  whereas,  it  is  deemed  fitting 
that  the  completion  of  the  first  century  of  our  national 
existence  shall  be  commemorated  by  an  exhibition  of  the 


4  HISTORY   OF    THE 

natural  resources  of  the  country  and  their  development,  and 
of  its  progress  in  those  arts  which  benefit  mankind  in  com 
parison  with  those  of  older  nations;  and  whereas,  no  place 
is  so  appropriate  for  such  an  exhibition  as  the  city  in  which 
occurred  the  event  it  is  designed  to  commemorate;  and 
whereas,  as  the  exhibition  should  be  a  national  celebration, 
in  which  the  people  of  the  whole  country  should  participate, 
it  should  have  the  sanction  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States:  therefore, 

SECTION  i.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress 
assembled,  That  an  exhibition  of  American  and  foreign  arts, 

o 

products  and  manufactures  shall  be  held,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six. 

The  following  proclamation  of  the  President  indicates 
the  national  character  of  the  exhibition: 

PROCLAMATION : 

BY   THE   PRESIDENT    OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 

WHEREAS,  by  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  March  third, 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-one,  providing  for  a  National 
Celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Inde 
pendence  of  the  United  States,  by  the  holding  of  an  Inter 
national  Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Products  of 
the  Soil  and  Mine,  in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  it  is  provided  as  follows: 

"  That,  whenever  the  President  shall  be  informed  by  the 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  that  provision  has 


CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION.  5 

been  made  for  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings  for  the 
purpose,  and  for  the  exclusive  control  by  the  Commission 
herein  provided  for  of  the  proposed  Exhibition,  the  Presi 
dent  shall,  through  the  Department  of  State,  make  procla 
mation  of  the  same,  setting  forth  the  time  at  which  the 
Exhibition  will  open,  and  the  place  at  which  it  will  be  held, 
and  he  shall  communicate  to  the  diplomatic  representatives 
of  all  nations  copies  of  the  same,  together  with  such  reg 
ulations  as  may  be  adopted  by  the  commissioners,  for 
publication  in  their  respective  countries;" 

And  whereas,  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  said 
State  of  Pennsylvania  did,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
June,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-three,  inform  me  that 
provision  has  been  made  for  the  erection  of  said  buildings 
and  for  the  exclusive  control  by  the  Commission  provided 
for  in  the  said  act  of  the  proposed  Exhibition; 

And  whereas,  the  President  of  the  United  States  Cen 
tennial  Commission  has  officially  informed  me  of  the  dates 
fixed  for  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  said  Exhibition,  and 
the  place  at  which  it  is  to  be  held: 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known  that  I,  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT, 
President  of  the  United  States,  in  conformity  with  the  pro 
visions  of  the  act  of  Congress  aforesaid,  do  hereby  declare 
and  proclaim  that  there  will  be  held,  at  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  an  International 
Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures  and  Products  of  the  Soil 
and  Mine,  to  be  opened  on  the  tenth  day  of  May,  Anno 
Domini,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-six,  and  to  be  closed 
on  the  tenth  day  of  November,  in  the  same  year. 

And  in  the  interests   of   peace,  civilization,  and  domestic 


6  HISTORY   OF    THE 

and  international  friendship  and  intercourse,  I  commend  the 
Celebration  and  Exhibition  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States;  and  in  behalf  of  this  government  and  people,  I 
cordially  commend  them  to  all  nations  who  may  be  pleased 
to  take  part  therein. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set   my  hand    and 
caused  the  seal  of   the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  third  day  of 
July,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three, 
and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
ninety-seventh.  U.  S.  GRANT. 

By  the  President: 

HAMILTON  FISH, 

Secretary  of  State. 

The  message  above  referred  to  by  President  Grant  relates 
to  the  State  providing  means  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
Memorial  Hall,  toward  which  the  sum  of  $1,000,000  was 
granted,  and  relates  also  to  the  various  grants  of  money 
made  by  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  which,  in  all,  has  appropri 
ated  $1,650,000;  the  sum  of  $75,000  was  expended  in  order 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  Centennial  Commission;  the 
citizens  of  Philadelphia  have  subscribed  $1,000,000.  Weigh 
ing  each  word  in  a  national  and  an  American  spirit,  it  is 
to  be  keenly  regretted  that  the  Government  at  Washington 
should  have  manifested  a  spirit  of  such  coldness  and  indif 
ference  to  an  object  of  such  universal  importance  as  to 
reject  all  appeals  for  pecuniary  assistance  in  forwarding-  the 
noble  work.  But  a  government,  even  though  loyal  to  true 
principles  and  a  fair  exponent  of  its  people's  creed,  some- 


CENTENNIAL    EXHIBITION.  7 

times  falls  behind,  sometimes  leaps  in  advance.  In  the 
stern  hours  of  '75  and  '76,  even  the  popular  conventions 
were  not  swayed  incessantly  by  that  invincible  resolve  which 
ever  animated  the  body  of  the  people — again  and  again 
fearing  to  be  over  rash,  or  to  outstep  their  constituents, 
they  were  unintentionally  false  to  the  general  wish.  In  our 
day  too,  though,  God  be  thanked,  in  less  fearful  times,  and 
with  another  and  less  grave  matter  in  hand,  the  leaders 
hesitated;  once  more  the  people  gave  its  voice,  and  Amer 
ican  oneness  of  feeling  testified  that  as  Jefferson  never 
ceased  to  teach,  the  voice  of  the  many  is  the  voice  of 
right.  Our  over-ocean  brethren  call  us  a  congress  of  states; 
a  rope  of  sand  devoid  of  tenuity;  a  many-limbed  creature 
devoid  of  the  principles  of  true  unity.  This  is  a  merited, 
a  just  reproach — where  measures  not  affecting  the  real  life 
of  the  nation  are  concerned;  yet,  within  the  memory  of  a 
young  boy,  we  have  shown  to  the  wondering  world  an 
example,  the  unparalleled  example,  of  a  oneness  of  will 
which  would  brook  no  boundaries  narrower  than  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific,  the  lakes  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Brotherly 
petulance  apart,  we  are  as  one  from  Maine  to  Florida,  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco.  A  knowledge  of  the  past 
warrants  the  assertion  that  a  senate  and  congress  which  sat 
forty  years  ago,  would  have  responded  heartily  to  any  call, 
from  any  state,  relative  to  an  object  of  such  genuine  impor 
tance,  as  a  Universal  American  Exhibition.  Now,  alas!  we 
have  not  statesmen  to  guide  our  helm,  have  only  politicians 
to  whom  the  line  of  Juvenal  may  well  apply: — Qtii  Curios 
simulant,  et  Bacchanalia  vimint;  who  affect  to  be  Curii  and 
live  like  Bacchanals.  Yet,  memory  of  days  gone  by  and 


8  HISTORY  OF   THE 

days  at  hand,  plucks  from  us  the  ability  to  render  to  them 
e'en  this  woful  praise;  rather,  they  scorn  the  affectation 
of  being  Curii,  and  outride  every  Bacchanal.  But  all  is 
well,  despite  the  unnational  spirit  of  the  government:  the 
people  have  responded,  and  success  looms  greater  with 
each  offering  from  our  sister  states. 


ORGANIZATION. 


President: 
JOSEPH  R.  HAWLEY. 

Vice-Presidents  : 

ALFRED  T.  GOSHORN,  ORESTES  CLEVELAND, 

JOHN  D.  CREIGH,  ROBERT  LOWRY, 

ROBERT  MALLORY. 

Director  General: 
ALFRED  T.  GOSHORN. 

Secretary : 
JOHN  L.  CAMPBELL. 

Assistant  Secretary: 
DORSEY  GARDNER. 

Counselor  and  Solicitor: 
JOHN  L.  SHOEMAKER. 


1 


HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH. 


IN  THE  following  sketch  it  is  purposed  to  portray  the 
condition  of  the  colonies  previous  to  the  outbreak  of 
the  revolution  and  during  its  progress;  also,  to  contrast  it 
with  the  present  condition  of  those  states  and  twenty-five  of 
their  children.  No  more  opportune  moment  could  possibly 
offer  itself  for  such  an  essay  than  does  the  approaching  Cen 
tennial  Celebration  which  is  to  take  place  in  this  city,  the 
birthplace  of  American  liberty,  commencing  May  loth,  1876, 
and  ending  the  following  November  loth. 

The  habits,  customs,  and  character  of  a  people  are  pro 
ducts  of  slow  growth,  and  to  the  Saxon  and  Anglo-Saxon 
this  remark  applies  more  forcibly  and  peculiarly  than  to  the 
more  mercurial  Celt.  Comparatively  speaking,  the  records  of 
history  exhibit  distinctly  and  unmistakably  the  phlegm  and 
dormancy  of  the  former  races;  the  impulsiveness  and  vol 
atility  of  the  latter.  A  rapid  glance  toward  Saxon  annals, 
whether  in  Germany,  or  where  her  sons  have  emigrated, 
enables  us  to  detect,  even  in  this  leveling  and  iconoclastic 
age,  certain  modes  of  thought,  certain  customs  and  charac 
teristics  which  crop  out,  as  it  were,  through  sheer  instinct. 

Man  is  by  nature  a  conservative  animal;  if  left  unassailed 
with  all  the  animal  conditions  of  life  fulfilled,  he  cares  little  for 
political  revolutions  or  social  innovations;  dreading  changes, 
no  matter  in  what  form  or  guise.  Like  our  contemporaries, 
the  wandering  Koraks  of  Siberia,  he  neither  knows  nor  is 


io  HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH. 

desirous  of  a  change.  This  people,  although  living  under 
the  government  of  Russia,  and  brought  almost  daily  under  its 
influence;  although  living  in  the  most  primitive  manner,  with 
the  reindeer  as  a  companion;  although  suffering  from  exposure 
and  privations  in  a  country  where  cold  reigns  paramount 
over  all — where  the  thermometer  marks  seventy  degrees  below 
zero  in  winter;  although  living  in  huts  so  rudely  constructed 
that  ingress  is  obtained  at  the  top; — yet  cannot  be  forced  or 
persuaded  to  abandon  its  ancestral  usages; — will  not  yield  its 
conservatism,  even  under  the  powerful  influences  of  the  strong 
government  which  rules  over  them.  It  has  been  roughly 
asserted  that  men's  brains  are  oftener  in  their  stomachs  than 
in  their  heads;  though  by  no  means  flattering  to  humanity, 
the  existence  of  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  the  assertion 
must  be  conceded.  That  great  revolutions  have  proceeded 
more  directly  from  physical  needs  than  from  a  desire  to 
develop  the  aesthetic,  is  too  apparent  to  merit  any  contradic 
tion  ;  that  those  physical  needs  have,  in  nearly  all  cases,  been 
the  ripeners  of  germs  of  thought  from  Confucius  to  the  pre 
sent  era,  will  not  readily  be  denied  by  the  scholar.  The 
immediate  causes  of  all  the  great  battles  that  have  been 
fought,  from  Marathon  to  Waterloo,  may  be  traced  more 
directly  to  an  ambitious  craving  for  increased  power  and 
wealth,  than  to  the  offspring  of  any  real  and  vital  want.  That 
but  few  ambitious  men  have  generally  been  the  cause  of  the 
major  portion  of  famous  frays  will  scarcely  be  denied,  or 
that  the  armies  have  been  composed  of  men  who  were  abso 
lutely  forced  to  combat  against  their  feelings  and  their  incli 
nation.  As  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century,  the  men  who 
colonized  this  country  were,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  political 


HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH.  11 

or  religious  malcontents,  or  those  who  suffered  under  the 
displeasure  of  their  governments.  The  wealthier  adventurers 
brought  with  them  their  servants,  and  at  once  entered  upon 
an  agricultural  life.  Loving  their  fatherland, — ever  bound  by 
the  strong  ties  of  veneration  and  affection, — they  found  their 
chief  glory  in  being  Englishmen  and  English  subjects.  In  the 
subsequent  erection  of  their  governments  they  brooded  over 
no  Utopian  ideas,  and,  far  from  desiring  independent  jurisdic 
tions,  asked  no  more  than  to  find  shelter  within  the  shadow 
of  that  home  power  they  loved  so  well  and  steadfastly. 

The  different  charters  were  granted  under  the  sanction  of 
the  crown,  and  the  various  laws,  established  by  the  colonies 
respectively,  were  constructed  in  accordance  with  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  those  documents.  Across  the  chasm  of  three 
thousand  miles  Englishmen  in  America  and  Englishmen  in 
England  struck  hands,  while  each  heart  beat  in  unison, 
responding  to  each  act  of  parliament.  The  haughty  and 
wealthy  aristocrat,  who,  ostracised  at  home  for  political  or 
other  offences,  trod  upon  the  virgin  soil  of  the  west,  stamped 
ineffaceably  upon  the  whole  country  his  hauteur  and  his  pride. 
His  life-purpose  was  to  develop  his  peculiar  ideas  and  per 
fect  them  in  order  to  gratify  his  ambition  and  love  of  wealth. 
He  subordinated  all  things  to  that  purpose.  He  not  only  ' 
brought  over  his  own  vassals,  treating  them  as  such  were 
treated  in  England,  but  also  purchased  negroes,  and  availed 
himself  of  Indian  labor  in  the  elaboration  of  the  views  with 
which  he  had  set  forth.  Increased  power  kept  pace  with  his 
increase  of  needs;  and,  proprietor  of  entire  counties  and  abso 
lute  lord  over  several  hundreds  of  servitors,  he  rapidly  became 
as  one  of  the  old-time  feudal  barons.  If  austere  in  his  per- 


12  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

sonal  habits,  he  was,  as  a  rule,  kindly  in  his  deportment 
toward  his  dependants.  While  his  government  was  pater 
nal,  and  to  a  certain  extent,  patriarchal  in  its  character,  it  was 
based  on  that  love  and  veneration  for  justice  which  has  ever 
been  admired  both  in  England  and  America. 

Thus  wrote  George  Mason,  the  distinguished  author  of  the 
Bill  of  Rights  for  the  state  of  Virginia,  in  1773:  "Every 
gentleman  here  is  born  a  petty  tyrant.  Practised  in  acts  of 
despotism  and  cruelty,  we  become  callous  to  the  dictates  of 
humanity  and  all  the  finer  feelings  of  the  soul.  Taught  to 
regard  a  part  of  our  own  species  in  the  most  abject  and  con 
temptible  degree  below  us,  we  love  that  idea  of  the  dignity 
of  man  which  the  hand  of  nature  hath  planted  in  us  for  great 
and  useful  purposes." 

A  reference  to  the  "  Original  Lists  of  Emigrants  in  the 
years  1600-1700," — edited  by  John  Camden  Hotten,  from  MSS. 
in  her  Majesty's  Public  Record  Office,  published  in  1874, — will 
exhibit  clearly  the  fact  that  many  of  the  present  families  of 
Virginia  are  intimately  connected  with  those  early  sojourners 
in  America.  The  first  historian  of  Virginia,  Ralph  Homer, 
is  there  recorded  as  among  the  emigrants,  with  a  large  retinue 
of  servants.  Twenty-one  counties  in  Virginia,  comprising 
nearly  a  quarter  of  the  state,  are  said  to  have  once  belonged 
to  one  family — that  of  Fairfax:  but  during  the  revolution, 
because  of  loyalty  to  Great  Britain,  every  acre  was  confiscated. 
This  list  is  a  very  suggestive  one,  showing,  as  it  does,  con 
siderable  numbers  of  wealthy  men  of  high  standing  in  Eng 
land  arriving  in  Virginia  with  from  fifty  to  over  one  hundred 
dependants  attached  to  their  households.  The  decadence,  in 
England,  of  feudalism  may  be  said  fairly  to  have  been  well 


HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH.  13 

represented  by  those  emigrants — by  the  vast  retinues  of  servi 
tors — although  it  had  long  ago  ceased  to  be  legal  in  England. 
This  feudalism,  which  was  fast  giving  way  in  England  to  the 
force  and  power  of  modern  thought,  received  in  the  colonies 
a  fresh  impetus  by  the  introduction  of  s4aves  by  the  Dutch 
in  1619.  That  act  will  forever  stand  as  a  blot  upon  the  page 
of  Virginia's  history;  although  at  that  time  the  usage  of 
modern  nations  was  her  justification,  and  even  continued  so 
during  two  subsequent  centuries. 

As  the  habits  and  customs  of  nations  are  slow  in  their 
growth,  so  are  these  nations  slow  in  throwing  off  what  has  been 
the  product  of  centuries ;  and  it  is  but  fair  to  presume  that  those 
landed  gentry  of  England  had  all  the  desire  of  power  fostered 
by  their  forefathers,  which  is  an  instinct  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race.  It  is  difficult  to  draw  the  line  where  the  proper  use  of 
power  begins  and  where  it  should  end.  As  a  general  axiom, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  abuse  of  power  is  more  frequent 
than  its  proper  use.  The  history  of  all  nations,  whether 
written  or  unwritten,  hold  this  indisputable.  Nor  can  we 
draw  too  tight  a  line  on  those  men,  born  and  educated  to  use 
power  as  though  it  was  an  heirloom  in  the  family, — even  if  it 
was  too  harshly  exercised.  The  white  servants  of  those  landed 
gentry  of  England  became  impregnated  with  the  use  and 
mode  of  power  exercised  by  their  masters;  and,  in  the  course 
of  time,  many  of  them,  either  by  industry  or  superior  ability, 
pressed  themselves  forward ;  and,  gaining  higher  positions, 
became  personages  of  importance  like  unto  their  former  mas 
ters.  Thus  the  colonies  became  established ;  and  increased 
their  populations  so  largely,  that  the  mother  country  exercised 

careful  parental  control  over  them  for  a  great  number  of  years, 
u 


i4  HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH. 

No  Englishman  loved  England  more  than  did  the  colonists: 
nay,  distance  increased  that  affection,  and  almost  passionate 
love  for  her.  The  literature  of  England  was  their  mental 
food;  her  Chaucer  and  Shakespeare,  her  Bacon  and  Milton, 
were  to  them  as  sacred  as  the  Bible,  and  were  inexhaustible 
fountains  of  pure  knowledge  and  intellectual  grandeur  which 
no  nation  of  ancient  or  modern  times  has  ever  equaled.  No 
greater  tribute  was  ever  offered  to  England  on  this  subject 
than  that  paid  by  one  of  the  noble,  though  singular  and  erratic, 
sons  of  Virginia,  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke.  It  was  not 
only  the  general  literature  of  England  of  which  the  colonists 
were  proud,  but  the  laws  of  England  were  to  them  the  incar 
nation  of  the  greatest  wisdom  of  the  age.  The  influence  of 
Magna  Charta,  with  the  great  privileges  which  were  wrung 
from  a  proud  king — its  trial  by  jury,  habeas  corpus,  and  Bill 
of  Rights — all  those  great  acts  made  them  proud  as  citizens 
of  the  colonies  that  had  been  founded  by  their  fatherland. 

Some  among  them  knew,  and  appreciated  the  fact,  that 
the  birth  of  their  Anglo-Saxonism  dated  markedly  from  the 
period  when  the  conqueror  of  Harold — William  of  Normandy 
—established  his  power  over  England.  From  that  epoch  the 
intermixture  of  the  races  became  more  general,  although 
recognizable  traces  of  such  an  intermingling  may  be  detected 
previous  to,  and  at  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Julius  Caesar. 
They  foresaw  the  future  glory  that  would  accrue  to  England 
from  the  rapid  colonization  of  this  country ;  and  the  develop 
ment  of  her  other  dependencies,  and  the  records  of  each  of 
the  Thirteen  Colonies,  are  full  of  loyal  outpourings  which,  in 
the  eloquent  pages  of  Bancroft,  testify  amply  to  their  filial 
attachment.  The  mode  of  government  of  the  colonies  was  by 


HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH.  15 

no  means  in  accordance  with  the  republicanism  of  this  age. 
In  the  southern  provinces  it  was  patriarchal  and  paternal  in 
both  form  and  spirit,  while  in  the  middle  and  northern  colo 
nies  it  was  stamped  with  intolerance  and  bigotry. 

New  England:  this  section  was  peculiar  in  the  char 
acteristics  of  its  first  colonists.  The  religious  tyranny  and 
persecution  then  leveled  against  the  Puritans  and  Indepen 
dents,  in  England,  was  so  severe  that,  rather  than  endure  the 
galling  yoke,  many  of  these  resolved,  after  receiving  news 
of  the  success  of  the  southern  colonies,  that  they  would  league 
themselves  into  a  band,  and  seek  a  haven  in  the  new  world. 
The  "Mayflower"  was  the  first  ship  that  carried  this  band  of 
Puritans  to  the  sterile  shores  of  New  England.  It  will  not 
be  forgotten  that,  at  that  period,  the  human  mind  had  not  the 
opportunity  to  embrace  the  wide-spread  knowledge  which 
literature,  science,  and  art  now  amplify, — permitting  broader 
and  more  exact  ideas  of  the  power  and  relations  of  things. 
The  religious  element  at  this  date  was  the  governing  power 
of  nations,  and  its  reflex  accompanied  all  who  were  brought 
under  its  influence;  hence,  to  condemn  too  straitly  the  dogma 
tism  of  the  early  New  England  puritans  would  ill  harmonize 
with  the  broad  and  philosophic  maxims  of  to-day.  Puritanism 
being  an  offshoot  of  the  Episcopal  church  of  England, — itself 
an  offshoot  of  the  Roman  church, — whose  persecutions  were, 
during  many  centuries,  tolerated  by  the  Christian  world,— 
it  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  what  had  been  instilled, 
during  so  many  years,  into  the  public  mind,  should  not,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  be  imitated  by  those  Puritans  when 
they,  in  turn,  held  the  balance  of  power.  Accordingly,  as 
their  strength  increased  with  the  lapse  of  time,  their  laws  and 


16  HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH. 

statutes,  constructed  generally  with  deferential  regard  to 
the  laws  of  England,  and  the  privileges  of  their  charters, 
were  strongly  tinged  with  over-nice  'theological  leanings,  bor 
dering  not  seldom  upon  narrowness  and  injustice.  The 
so-called  Blue  Laws  of  Connecticut,  is  a  striking  case  in  point. 
Even  after  Rhode  Island,  another  example,  had  declared  in 
favor  of  confederation,  a  clause  disfranchising  the  Catholics 
was  embodied  in  her  constitution,  and  for  some  time  after 
held  its  place  in  that  document.  In  the  whole  history  of 
England  the  conservatism  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  was  never 
better  exemplified  than  in  the  deportment  of  her  American 
colonies; — which  took  the  hues  of  their  English  surroundings, 
— and  which,  in  all  their  acts,  bore  the  unmistakable  impress 
of  her  character. 

The  southern  colonies  were,  in  their  general  religious 
character,  Church  of  England  people;  and  the  aggregate  tenor 
of  their  laws  was  favorable  to  the  perpetuation  of  the  Episco 
palian  tenets.  Says  Bancroft,  vol.  ix.  p.  275:  "Let  not  the 
philosopher  hear  with  scorn,  that  their  constitutions  were  so 
completely  the  offspring  of  the  past,  and  not  the  phantasms 
of  theories,  that  at  least  seven  of  them  required  some  sort  of 
religious  test  as  a  qualification  for  office.  In  Maryland  and 
Massachusetts,  it  was  sufficient  to  declare  '  belief  in  the 
Christian  religion';  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  in  the 
'  Protestant  religion,  and  the  divine  authority  of  the  old  and 
new  testaments';  in  Pennsylvania,  the  test  was  'a  belief  in 
God,  the  creator  and  governor  of  the  universe,  the  rewarder 
of  the  good  and  punisher  of  the  wicked';  besides  this  last 
acknowledgement,  Delaware  required  the  officer  to  profess 
faith  in  God,  the  father,  Jesus  Christ  his  only  son,  and  the 


HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH.  17 

Holy  Ghost,  one  God  blessed  forever  more."  The  pious 
element  in  all  the  constitutions  of  the  Thirteen  States,  took 
high  rank  among  the  subsequent  leading  issues,  and  varied 
but  little  from  the  spirit  of  the  previous  eentury.  When  the 
members  of  the  continental  congress  sat  in  this  city  in  1776, 
and  appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  declaration  of  inde 
pendence,  that  pious  element  which  had  formerly  pervaded 
those  constitutions  was  almost  entirely  eliminated.  In  the 
"Declaration"  can  be  found  no  word,  nor  phrase,  which 
interferes  with  the  tolerant  and  all-embracing  liberality  of  its 
great  scope  and  aim.  This  "declaration"  marks  a  beneficent 
era  in  the  progress  of  modern  thought,  and  evinces  with 
admirable  clearness  the  strong  desire  permeating  the  political 
and  moral  sentiment  of  that  age.  Not  that  religion  was  to 

o  o 

be  ignored,— nor  yet  made  subservient  to  politics  and  morals, 
—but  to  assert  the  true  and  distinctive  position  of  each  one 
relatively  to  the  other. 

This  asra  of  1776  was  as  splendid  a  victory  for  free, 
untrammeled  thought,  as  it  was  a  grand  political  victory  for  all 
humanity.  Had  England  been  more  wise,  had  she  turned 
from  the  enforcement  of  those  fruitless  claims  of  which  the 
stamp  act  was  the  type,  the  onward  stride  of  progress  would 
have  been  greatly  hampered  with  the  preservation  of  the 
colonial  system  and  charters.  Further:  it  is  apparent  to  all 
students  of  history  that,  heavy  as  had  been  their  burdens,  the 
great  majority  of  the  people,  especially  the  wealthier  colonists, 
would  have  rather  borne  their  ills,  than  have  pursued  that 
needed  course  in  which  were  so  many  frays  and  perils.  Had 
it  not  been  for  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  Washington,  who 

was  the  first   to  recognize  the   "United   States,"  rather  than 
E 


i8  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

a  "Confederacy  of  States,"  the  supposition  is  tenable  that 
failure  might  have  been  the  result  of  the  effort  to  found  a 
free  state.  It  is  not  intended  here  to  ignore  the  valiant 
struggles  of  the  soldiers  who  fought  so  well, — suffered  so 
much;  but  apparent  limitations  prevent  any  elaborate  detail, 
and  permit  but  a  reference  to  the  most  important  fact: — that 
the  collective  military  power  of  the  patriots  was  voluntarily 
placed  by  them  in  the  hands  of  Washington,  in  whose  ability 
and  patriotism  they  placed  great  and  merited  reliance.  In 
all  important  revolutions  man  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  like  a 
child  that  looks  only  for  succor  and  help  to  its  mother:  as 
history  exhibits,  man  must  worship  some  idol — some  one  of 
his  companions  who,  by  the  strength  of  his  own  greatness, 
has  exemplified  to  him  his  will  and  power  to  rule.  Alex 
ander,  Hannibal,  Cromwell,  and  Napoleon,  were  the  leaders 
of  Rome,  Carthage,  England,  and  France;  and  Washington  in 
America.  Washington  tempered  power  with  mercy:  if  he  or 
dered  the  execution  of  an  Andre,  he  sacrificed  his  humaneness 
to  his  sense  of  duty:  when  his  army  was  retiring  to  winter 
quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  his  heart  yearned  with  pity,  causing 
him  inexpressible  mental  anguish;  when  the  soldiers,  filing 
before  him  in  rags  and  squalor, — many  stockingless  and  shoe 
less — tramping  wearily  over  snow  and  ice,  leaving  their  tracks 
crimsoned  with  blood, — he  was  hurt  with  sore  pain  and  woe. 
His  every  desire  prompted  him  peremptorily  to  make  a  public 
and  decided  demand  on  congress  for  his  suffering  troops; 
but  his  duty  as  a  true  patriot  consisted  in  making  this  appeal 
quietly;  and  with  an  entire  suppression  of  all  unnecessary 
publicity;  otherwise,  the  knowledge  of  the  general  want  and 
destitution  being  made  known  to  his  army,  might  have  pre- 


HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH.  19 

cipitated  mutiny,  and  occasioned  widespread  despondency. 
He  knew  of  the  cabals  against  him — and  knew  too  that  his 
brother  patriot,  John  Adams,  was  under  the  influence  of  those 
who  called  his  policy  "  Fabian  "• —the  same  who  once  declared 
in  congress  that  "as  a  gentleman,  he  would  shake  hands 
with  the  chieftain,  but  he  was  in  that  house  his  superior." 
Notwithstanding  the  exertions  of  Gates,  Conway,  Mifflin,  and 
others,  he  ever  pursued  a  straightforward  and  patriotic  policy 
that,  ultimately,  disgracing  the  members  of  the  cabal,  won  for 
himself  countless  honors  and  renown.  In  1776  he  was  the 
first  officer  who  asked  congress  for  a  "United  States  army;" 
and  besought  them  not  to  continue  the  struggle  with  irregular 
squads  of  men  destined  to  be  transiently  incorporated  with 
the  general  army, — itself  in  general  a  collection  of  orderless 
militia.  He  saw  that,  with  such  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  raw 
material,  there  was  small  prospect  of  success;  and  his  reiter 
ated  demands  finally  induced  congress  to  grant  his  constantly 
preferred  request. 

This  was  a  most  important  innovation  in  states'  rights, 
which  was  watched  with  marked  jealousy  by  nearly  every 
member  of  the  continental  congress.  The  conservation  of 
their  peculiar  political  rights  was  one  of  their  watchwords; 
and,  for  this  almost  sacred  right  to  be  attacked,  by  the  first 
man  in  the  country,  was  a  blow  that  fell  upon  them  with 
startling  effect;  but  the  stern  logic  of  events  necessitated 
the  measure,  and  withdrawal  was  impossible.  It  should  be 
carefully  borne  in  mind  that  Virginians  were  prouder  of  being 
Virginians  than  Americans.  This  sectional  pride  pervaded 
every  colony;  and,  this  understood,  it  is  easy  to  comprehend 
the  importance  of  the  revolution  effected  by  Washington — 


20 


HIS  7  ORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 


when,  from  a  reluctant  congress,  he  drew  the  power  to 
organize  a  "United  States  army."  That  conquest  over  a 
cherished  principle  should,  especially  in  its  remoter  effects  on 
the  republic,  be  ranked  as  one  of  the  grandest  measures  passed 
by  the  continental  congress,— one  of  the  earliest  germs  of 
national  growth.  It  struck  a  deathblow  to  colonial  despotism ; 
and  it  was  this  measure  that,  within  the  century,  rendered  the 
title  American,  one  to  which  it  was  necessary  to  concede 
respect  and  admiration. 

After  this  act  of  congress,  the  prejudices  of  the  colonies 
received  a  shock   from   which    it   could    never   again   recover. 
The  stern    line  of  the   logic  of  events    seemed    implacable— 
would    not    bend    in    any    manner — could    not    recede.      The 
forward    stride    in    progress    of   the    Anglo-Saxon    is    irrevo 
cable:  the  eye  looks  not  back  again,  nor  does  the  hand  falter. 
Once  a  Magna  Charta  extorted,  trial   by  jury,  habeas  corpus, 
declaration  of  independence,  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  Eng 
lish    colonies,    the    war   of    secession,   and    the    abolition    of 
slavery   in    the    United    States, — once    accomplished,    forever 
accomplished.     No  Englishman,  no  American,  however  much 
he  may  have  been  opposed  to  the  measures,  ever  now  dreams 
of    reinstating    those    relics   of    the   past.      Those    important 
events  took  place,  after  centuries  apart,  that  fully  redeem  the 
race  of  their  originators  from  the  charge  of  either   rashness 
in  action,  or  even  volatility  of  temperament.      It  is  believed 
that,   to    the   readers  of   this    essay,  it   will  be    palpable    and 
apparent,  that  its  object    is    to  point  out   and   generalize  the 
peculiar   qualities    of    the    Anglo-Saxon    in    his    struggle    for 
life,  even  when  clashed  with  the  Celt.     This  pride  of  race  is 
one  of  the  great   springs  of  human  action,  and    through   its 


HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH.  21 

influences  nations  are  materially  modified,  or  changed  in 
character.  Truth  will  not  be  injured  by  illustration.  Canada 
was  originally  colonized  by  the  French,  and  the  brilliant 
pages  of  Parkman  can  be  read  with  interest  and  profit;  the 
stern  and  inflexible  Jesuit  Laval  being  there  painted  with 
masterly  skill.  By  her  rigid  and  merciless  decrees  the  church 
moulded  the  aboriginals  to  her  will ;  on  several  occasions  the 
temporal  power  of  the  crown  made  some  progress, — but,  gen 
erally,  the  ecclesiastical  influence  carried  away  all  obstacles. 
This  reign  of  the  church  in  Canada  continued  until  its 
conquest  and  annexation  by  the  English.  Thereafter  the 
province  lived  a  new  life.  English  emigrants  arrived,  bearers 
of  religious  views  in  direct  and  deadly  antagonism  with 
the  resident  Catholic  element.  The  genius  and  learning  of 
Bacon,  Milton,  Locke,  and  others,  had  so  thoroughly  impreg 
nated  the  minds  of  those  Anglo-Saxons  that  it  tended  to 
isolate  them  completely  from  the  French  occupants;  and, 
through  their  hard  labor  and  practical  common  sense,  to 
work  out  their  own  salvation.  A  comparison  of  the  French 
portion  of  the  people  of  Montreal  will  to-day  reveal  a  marked 
distinction  in  national  character  existing  in  their  surroundings. 
The  former  people,  notwithstanding  that  they  are  surrounded 
by  modernized  thought  in  all  its  various  and  varying  phases 
and  forms,  are,  to  this  day, — even  in  Montreal,  in  their  section 
of  the  city, — little  changed  from  what  they  were  a  century  ago. 
In  the  inner  agricultural  portions  of  French  Canada, — where 
the  attrition  of  thought  and  physical  actions  are  feebler  and 
less  potent, — the  people  are  essentially  unchanged.  Nay,  if 
Champlain,  or  Laval,  were  to  revisit  those  parts,  either  would 
perceive  scarcely  any  change  in  either  the  original  mind,  or 


22  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

matter,  of  their  fellow  countrymen.  The  application  of  this 
idea,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  fits  with  great  force  even  to 
agricultural  France;  though  that  country  is  overrun  daily  with 
tourists  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  It  is  not  even 
necessary  to  penetrate  far  into  the  interior;  any  one  landing 
at  Calais,  who  may  spend  a  few  hours  there,  will  observe  the 
costume  of  centuries  ago  still  worn  by  the  peasant.  This 
sounds  paradoxical  when  it  is  considered  that  Paris  is  the 
acknowledged  modeler  of  fashions  for  the  civilized  world, — but 
facts  cannot  be  gainsaid.  This  vitality  of  action  in  Paris,  and 
in  the  larger  cities,  is  caused  by  the  frequent  attritions  of  force 
brought  into  action  by  resident  foreigners.  This  idea  could 
be  amplified  with  abundance  of  citations  and  evidence,  but 
it  would  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  essay  to  travel 
very  far  out  of  our  own  country. 

The  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  were  a 
composite  of  nationalities:  two  were  Englishmen,  Robert 
Morris  and  Button  Gwinnett;  three  were  Irishmen,  James 
Smith,  George  Taylor,  and  Matthew  Thornton;  two  were 
Scotchmen,  James  Wilson  and  John  Witherspoon;  one  was 
a  Welshman,  Francis  Lewis:  the  remaining  forty-eight  were 
all  born  in  the  colonies.  A  glance  at  the  names  will  at  once 
convince  every  one  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  origin  of  the  whole. 
The  names  of  the  three  Irishmen  are  purely  Anglo-Saxon; 
and  a  genealogical  analyzation  of  their  origin  would  result  in 
a  perfect  accordance  with  the  position  claimed, — with  the 
probable  exception  of  Charles  Carroll.  The  members  of  the 
continental  congress  will,  in  intellectual  strength  and  ability 
compare  favorably  with  the  most  favored  legislators  during 
any  period  of  history,  or  in  any  portion  of  the  world.  The 


HISTORICAL    MONOGRAPH.  23 

statesmen  of  the  commonwealth  under  Cromwell  were  gener 
ally  men  of  rare  merit  and  ability;   but  if  England  had  then 
her   Cromwell,   we    had    afterward    our   Washington;    if  she 
had    her    Hampden,  we    had   John   Adams;    if    a  Pym,  there 
was  our  Franklin;    if  Sir  John  Elliot,  there  was  our  Jefferson; 
for   the   Earl  of  Stratford,  Charles  Carroll   of  Carrollton;    for 
Sir   Henry  Vane,  our   Robert  Morris;   and  for  Henry  Marten 
there  was  John  Hancock.     The  apposition  of  these  names  is 
not  expected  to  stand  a  critical   mental  analysis,  but  simply 
to  illustrate  positions,  in  a  certain  relative  manner,  as  members 
of  two   great  legislatures.     The   assembly  over  which   Robe 
spierre  ruled  with  a  sanguinary  hand   possessed  a  Mirabeau, 
a   Desmoulins,  and   others  of   sparkling  and  flaming  genius ; 
but  what  a  sad  commentary  on  human  nature!     Again,  take 
the   parliament   which   sat   under   George    III.,  while    he  was 
aiming  at  the  utter  submission  of  the  colonies,  and  compare 
its  elements  with  those  of  the  continental  congress.      It  had 
a    Pitt,  a   Fox,  and  a  Burke,  a  trio  of  men   resplendent  for 
their    genius — a  galaxy  that  would    honor   the   most   favored 
nations.      How    their    powerful    eloquence    pleaded    for    the 
colonies  against  the  tyranny  of  an  imbecile  king  and  worse 
administration!     What   comfort  and   joy  their  stirring  words 
produced  in  the  legislatures — in  the  heart  of  the  farmer  in  his 
field — of  the  soldier   on    the  camping  ground,  without  shoes 
or  stockings,  and    in    rags — of  all    this,  we   can   at   this    time 
form  but  a  very  remote  and  limited  idea.     If  the  continental 
congress   did  not  produce  a  Fox,  a   Pitt,  or  a  Burke,  yet,  we 
venture   to   assert,    its    collective   wisdom   was    equal,    if    not 
superior,  to  that  parliament  of  George  III. 

Among   the   signers  of  the    Declaration   of  Independence 


24  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

were    twenty-four   lawyers,  fourteen    farmers,  nine   merchants, 
four  physicians,  one  Gospel  minister,  three  who  were  educated 
lor   the    ministry,  but   who    chose   other   avocations,  and    one 
manufacturer.     If  the  pages  of  Hansard  were  compared  with 
those    of    the    "Debates    in    the    Conventions  "  —  one    might 
admire  more  the  eloquence  of  Pitt— the  electrifying  effects  of 
Fox,  or  the  stately  periods  of  Burke;  but,  in  practical  method, 
m  sound  common  sense,  in  the  calmness  which  characterized 
their   actions   when    driven  by  the  king's   army  from   city  to 
city— with  treason  and  all    its   consequences,  following   them 
by  day  and   by  night— when  their  lives  and  fortunes,  if  not 
their  honor  too,  were   at   stake— who  would    not  discern  the 
greatest   qualities   which   adorn   human    nature?     True,  those 
men  had    faults    inseparable  from  human   nature,  but  'in    the 
congress  they  sought  to  subordinate  all  to  the  general  good. 
Some  talented  and  good  men  were  with -that  body  who  could 
not  agree  with  all  its  actions,  and  thought  the  measures  were 
extreme:  John   Dickinson  was  the  most  distinguished    while 
)seph   Galloway   stood    upon    the    same    common    ground 
Dickinson  was  deprived  of  his  rights  as  an  American  citizen 
Dut  subsequently  these  were  restored  to  him.     The  Loyalists 
of  the  Revolution  were  a  numerous  and    influential  body  of 
men;  from  the  state  of  Massachusetts  alone,  after  the  evacua- 
:ion  of  Boston  by  the  royal  army,  upward  of  eleven  hundred 
those  adherents  to  the  crown  retired  with  it      In  "Sabine's 
Loyalists  m  the  American  Revolution,"  is  found  the  following: 
Th1S  number  includes,  of  course,  men,  women  and  children 
the  men,  however,  were  many  persons  of  distinguished 
rank  and  consideration.     Of  members  of  the  council,  commis 
sioners,  officers  of  the  customs,  and  other  officials  there  were 


HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH.  25 

one  hundred  and  two;  of  clergymen,  eighteen;  of  inhabitants 
of  country  towns,  one  hundred  and  five;  of  merchants  and 
other  persons  who  resided  in  Boston,  two  hundred  and 
thirteen;  of  farmers,  mechanics,  and  tradesmen,  three  hundred 
and  eighty-two.  *  *  *  *  *  Unless  Galloway — a  name 
often  to  appear  in  this  work — was  mistaken,  the  Loyalists 
of  the  middle  colonies  were  ready  to  enter  the  military  service 
for  the  crown  in  large  numbers.  His  statement  is  that  had  Sir 
William  Howe  issued  a  proclamation  when  in  Philadelphia, 
3,500  men  would  have  repaired  to  his  standard;  that  in 
that  city,  in  New  Jersey,  and  in  New  York,  he  could  have 
embodied  quite  5,000;  that  upward  of  fifty  gentlemen  went 
to  his  camp  to  offer  their  services  in  disarming  the  disaffected, 
but  failing  to  obtain  even  an  interview,  retired  in  disgust;  and 
that,  under  Sir  William's  successor,  5,000  actually  appeared 
in  arms  for  the  defence  of  the  city  of  New  York."  Vol.  I., 

P-  25. 

In  order  to  appreciate  still  further  the  trials  and  difficulties, 
this  Congress  of  Freemen  had  to  encounter,  see  page  34  of 
the  above-mentioned  work.  Col.  Joseph  Reed,  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  writes:  "It  is  said:,  the  Virginians  are  so  alarmed 
with  the  idea  of  independence  that  they  have  sent  Mr. 
Braxton  on  purpose  to  turn  the  vote  of  that  colony  [Virginia] 
if  any  question  on  that  subject  should  come  before  congress." 
Again,  p.  35,  Sabine  states:  "This  correspondence  occurred 
but  a  little  more  than  three  months  previous  to  the  time 
when  congress  actually  declared  the  Thirteen  Colonies  to  be 
free  and  independent  States." 

As  this  course  of  inquiry  proceeds,  the  collective  talent, 
integrity,  and  wisdom  of  the  congress  of  1774 — 1776  rises 

G 


26  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

higher  and   brighter  in  comparison  with   any  known   similar 
assembly.     When  it  is   further  considered   that  this  was    the 
first  attempt   in   all    history   to    found   a   republic    free    from 
feudalism  or  Caesarism — our  respect  grows  deeper,  our  rever 
ence    more    devout    for    this    rare    assembly    of    men.      No 
precedent   in  Greek  or  Roman  republics  could  be   found   on 
which    to    base    the    natural    rights   of    man  which   were    so 
eloquently  expounded    by  Paine,    in    his    "Common    Sense," 
and     "Rights    of    Man: "--The     "Republic"    of    Plato;    the 
"Oceana"  of  Harrington;   the  "Utopia"  of  More;   the  grand 
and  comprehensive  wisdom  of  Bacon  and  Milton  were  doubt- 
well    read    and    digested     by    Jefferson,    John    Adams, 
Rutledge,  and  others,  but  it  was  necessary  to  eliminate  such 
portions   of    wisdom   as    might   well    suit    the    then    existing 
order  of  things.     That   task   was   rendered    more    and    more 
difficult    by   the   jealousies    necessarily  inseparable    from    the 
previous  relative  positions  of  the  colonies  who  feared  lest  the 
new  order  of  things  might  take  away  or  annul    those   rights 
which    they   deemed    unalterable.      These   serious    difficulties 
coupled  with  the  Loyalist  troubles  produced  grave  questions 
-edmg  an  ultimate  settlement.     As  time  is  now  mellowing 
vn  the  political  differences  which  caused  the  war  of  seces 
sion,  an   illustration  of  some  points  from  it  will  show   more 
learly  that  the  same    trend  of  undercurrents   never  cease  to 
We   who   have    lived    through    the    unparalleled   war 
ch  ravaged  and  struck  at  the  whole  country,  from  1861   to 
B64,  when  nearly  500,000  men  were  in  arms,  which  paralyzed 
smess  and  commerce,  and  made  men  fear  for  the  safety  of 
Amenca-we  marveled  at   the   strength  of  our   own    power 
th  and  south,  to   do  and  act  as  we  did.     During  the  last 


DOMESTIC   CONDITION.  27 

year  of  the  conflict,  the  sufferings  and  privations  of  those  in 
the  southern  army  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  manifold 
troubles  sustained  by  the  army  of  Washington.  The  grit,  the 
courage,  and  long  continued  suffering  and  obstinacy  of  the 
race,  is  as  encouraging  as  ever.  In  the  midst  of  that  lament 
able  conflict,  we  all  thought  that  greater  and  nobler  qualities 
had  been  developed  than  upon  any  former  occasion;  but,  if 
we  take  a  cool  and  unimpassioned  view  of  things,  and  com 
pare  what  was  done  by  the  continental  congress  and  army, 
we  observe  the  presence  of  greater  qualities  for  abstract  right 
than  can  be  credited  to  either  party  in  the  last  war.  For 
the  war  of  the  rebellion  we  may  indisputably  claim  greater 
physical  victories  in  men  and  in  armaments,  both  on  sea  and 
on  land;  but,  in  victories  that,  in  the  abstract,  are  to  be  classed 
with  the  highest  and  most  profound  statesmanship — victories 
of  the  creative  order,  where  men  showed  they  were  not  only 
the  creatures  of  circumstances,  but  the  creators  of  them — the 
men  of  the  revolution  of  1776  are  as  yet  unequaled  in  the 
highest  qualities  of  statesmanship. 

DOMESTIC    CONDITION    IN    1776   AND    1876. 

This  part  of  our  subject  is  so  wide  and  varied  that  a 
synoptical  view  alone  must  necessarily  suffice.  The  domestic 
lives  of  the  colonists  previous  to,  and  long  after,  the  revo 
lution  were,  as  are  those  of  all  agricultural  peoples,  of  a 
comparatively  primitive  order.  The  country  was  sparsely 
populated,  so  that  occasional  visits  only  could  be  made;  and, 
as  a  natural  result,  the  cultivation  of  many  wants  was  not 
fostered.  In  our  present  state  our  wants  are  much  greater 
than  our  needs.  The  southern  colonies  aimed  at  a  much 


28  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

higher  scale  than  the  eastern  and  middle  colonies.     Virginia 

o 

led    the  way   in   aristocratic   pretensions;  and,   in   a  measure, 
looked   with   a   degree   of   derision    on    her    northern    sisters. 
It   is  not   many  years  since  W.  Gilmore   Simms,  the  author 
of  many  valuable  historical  American  romances,  made  it  the 
rulino-  idea  always  to  choose  the  gentlemen  from   the   south; 
and  from  the  north,  the  boors  and  clowns.     In  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  social   gatherings  were   not   frequent.      Mrs. 
Ellet   in   her   "Queens   of   American    Society,"    states,   p.    15: 
"The    first    dancing    assembly   said    to   have    been    held    in 
Philadelphia,  in    1748,  had    its   subscription    list   mostly  filled 
with  names  of   English  families,  attached    to   the    Church  of 
England.      The  list  was  under  the   direction  of  John   Inglis 
and  other  gentlemen,  and  each  subscription  was  forty  shillings. 
The  custom  was  universal  among  men  of  wearing   the  hair 
tied  up  with  ribbon,  in  a  long  bunch,  in  a  form  called  a  queue. 
Gentlemen's  coats  were  made  of  cloth  or  velvet,  of  all  colors; 
the  collar  being  sometimes  of  a  different  hue  from  the  coat. 
In   the  supreme    court    the  judges,  in   winter,  wore    robes  of 
scarlet   faced    with   black   velvet;    in    the   summer,   full    black 
silk    gowns."      Again,    p.    28:    "Mr.   Wingate    describes    the 
dinner  given  at  Washington's  house,  the  day  after  his  wife's 
arrival,  as  the   least  showy  of  any  he  ever  saw  at  the  Presi 
dent's  table.     The  chief  said  grace,  and  dined  on  boiled  leg 
of  mutton.     After  dessert,  one  glass  of  wine  was  offered   to 
each  guest;  and,  when  it  had  been  drunk,  the  President  rose 
and  led  the  way  to  the  drawing  room.     Two  days  afterward 
Mrs.  Washington  held  her  first  levee;  the  President  continu 
ing   to   receive    every  Tuesday  afternoon.      Mrs.  Washington 
received  from  eight  to  ten  every  Friday  evening.     The  levees 


DOMESTIC   CONDITION.  29 

were  numerously  attended  by  all  that  was  fashionable, 
elegant,  or  refined  in  society;  but  "there  were  no  places  for 
the  intrusion  of  the  rabble  in  crowds;  or  for  the  more  coarse 
and  boisterous  partisan,  the  vulgar  electioneer,  or  the  impu 
dent  place-hunter, — with  boots,  frockcoats,  or  roundabouts,  or 
with  patched  knees  and  holes  at  the  elbows.  On  the  contrary, 
they  were  select  and  more  courtly  than  have  been  given  by 
any  of  the  President's  successors.  Mrs.  Washington  was 
careful  in  her  drawing  room  to  exact  those  courtesies  to  which 
she  knew  her  husband  entitled." 

This  picture  of  society  contrasts  very  strongly  with  the 
customs  of  our  day.  The  cheapness  and  simplicity  of  the 
President's  table  would  scarcely  be  tolerated  by  the  first  class 
mechanic  of  to-day.  There  are  very  few,  if  any,  respectable 
people  now,  who,  if  asked  out  even  to  dine,  would  not  con 
sider  themselves  very  meanly  and  scurvily  treated,  if  proffered 
the  same  fare.  But  a  levee?  and  to  dine  thus  in  the  Presi 
dent's  house!  The  plebeians  of  this  age  would  hold  up  their 
heads  in  horror!  But  how  grand  this  noble  simplicity! — how 
becoming  in  the  conduct  of  a  president  of  a  country  that  knew 
and  valued  the  simplicity  of  republicanism!  Washington  knew 
that  while  he  was  in  the  presidential  chair,  he  was  expected 
to  sacrifice  his  inclinations  now,  as  he  had  sacrificed  them  many 
times  before,  for  the  general  benefit  of  the  country.  The  dig 
nity  and  form  of  government  must  be  held  and  reverenced 
with  the  highest  respect;  and  he  was  the.  head  of  that  govern 
ment,  which  he  knew  also  was  an  experiment  in  the  annals 
of  mankind;  —  that  its  incipient  stages  required  from  him 
great  prudence  and  foresight.  He  knew  that  the  eyes  of  the 
civilized  world  were  looking  to  this  country  with  envy  and 
H 


30  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

scorn,  and  trying  with  all   its  might  to  throw  every  kind   of 
obstacle  in  its  way.     In  order  to  enforce  respect  from   other 
governments,  he  felt  that  his  government  must  respect  itself 
by  a  due   observance   of    those   forms   and    courtesies   which 
society  demanded.     Washington,  if  proud  and  aristocratic  in 
his  general  conduct,  was  the  true  reflex  of  his  age;  and  it  is 
from  that  standard  we  must  view  his  life.      The   thinkers   of 
this  age  regret  deeply  that  plebeianism   has   taken   the    place 
of  nature's  true  aristocracy.     Had  we  less  rampant  democracy, 
as    it    is    understood    to-day,   and    more    natural    aristocracy,' 
society  would  not  be  so  degraded.     The  primitive  simplicity 
unexpensive     habits    of    the     people,    in     the    colonies, 
were  reflected   in  a  very  impressive   manner  by  the  members 
of   the  continental    congress.      In    the   southern    states   many 
houses   yet  remain  which  silently  express   the  solid,   but  not 
showy,  manners-in  which   lived  the  people  who  suffered  so 
iuch  in   building  up  this  republic.      Their  homes  were  open 
-11,  and   that  kind  of  hospitality  is  not  even   yet    entirely 
The    beggar   was    never    turned    adrift   without 
nstance;    the    wanderer   was    kindly   entertained,    and    the 
gn    traveler   was   especially  provided    for.      The  dress  of 
th  men  and  women  was  not  of  that  costly  style  at  present 
adopted;  the  few  wealthy  men  had  their  "court"  dress;  which 
however   for   years;    the  ladies  did    not,  as  now,  wear 
forty  or  fifty  yards  of  silk  or  satin  in  one   dress;   nor,  as   is 
the  present  mode,  load  themselves  with  laces  and  furbelows 
•  expensive  rings  glittering  with   diamonds,  opals,  and  all 
ds   of    precious    stones.      Nay,    fortunes    of    hundreds    of 
thousands   of    dollars   are   very   frequently   displayed    on    the 
person    in     the    balls    and    soir.es    given    at    many    of    ou 


DOMESTIC   CONDITION.  31 

palatial  houses.  Instead  of  the  plain,  but  solid,  bill  of 
fare  which  was  served  at  Washington's  table,  the  largest 
cities  may  now  boast  of  their  millionaires  whose  palaces 
have  cost  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars, — embellished  with 
costliest  carved  woods,  frescoed  ceilings,  picture  galleries- 
many  of  which  contain  the  clicf  cTcettvres  of  rare  European 
masters;  libraries  filled  with  costly  books,  tables  groaning 
under  massive  silverware,  viands  rarest  of  the  rare,  wines 
of  numerous  kinds  and  choicest  qualities,  tropical  fruits, 
confectionery  made  by  French  cooks,  waiters  in  livery, 
music  most  charming; — all  this  makes  up  a  picture  certainly 
fascinating.  But  political  economists  have  not,  as  yet, 
decided  which  of  the  two  pictures  is  the  more  desirable  in 
society.  There  is  one  thing  self-evident,  that  all  are  trying  to 
rise  to  the  highest  position  which  wealth  can  give;  if  wealth 
can  be  used  to  elevate  society,  and  not  to  pander  to  low 
and  groveling  tastes,  then,  and  then  only,  has  wealth  its  true( 
and  noble  mission.  However  one  may  admire  the  social 
and  domestic  condition  of  the  colonists,  it  yet  cannot  be 
denied  that  we  have  made  many  additions  to  our  domestic 
happiness  of  which  they  were  debarred  the  enjoyment.  The 
value  and  benefit  of  many  things  are  often  not  appreciated 
save  by  their  absence.  Water,  that  indispensable  supporter 
of  life,  was  not,  in  the  days  of  the  colonists,  brought  into 
the  houses  —  circulated  through  every  room.  Bath  tubs,  with 
hot  and  cold  water  in  the  house,  were  to  them  unattainable 
blessings.  No  one  can  appreciate  such  things  at  their  true 
value  unless  they  have  once  enjoyed  them,  and  then  been 
placed  in  a  position  where  they  could  not  be  obtained.  There 
are  women  living  in  almost  every  city  who  can  remember 


32  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

having,  every  morning,  been    forced    to   go   to   the  pump,  or 
the  well,  and   draw  the  water   as    it  was  required   for  family 
use.      No  matter  where  the  thermometer  was — below  zero,  or 
among  the  nineties— their  work  demanded  its  prompt  accom 
plishment.     It  is  fair  to  assume,  that  however  desirous  were 
our  ancestors  to  be  cleanly  in  their  habits,  they  had  not  the 
opportunities,  which   we,  through   the   medium  of  our   water 
arrangements,  have  to  cleanse  ourselves  thoroughly  in  every 
respect.     "Cleanliness,"   says  Wesley,  "is  next  to  godliness." 
If  so,  we  have  ample  means  to  be  the  godliest  people  in  the 
world.      What   could   we    do  with   our   servants    at   this    day 
were  they  compelled  either  to  pump  the  water,  or  to  carry  it 
in   from  the  well?     We  fear  to  answer  the  question.      Even 
with  all  the  conveniences  we  have,  this  help  question  is  one 
of   the    most    serious   of   the    day.      Tallow   candles  and    oil 
were    the    only   mediums   of    light    in    those    colonial    times. 
Now,  any  city  or  town  of  a  few  thousands  of  people    have 
the   comfort   and   blessings  of   unstinted   gas-light.     The    old 
method    of    procuring    fire    was    flint     and     steel :     now    we 
possess  the  lucifer  match,  and  who  can  enumerate  its  benefits 
to  the  world  at   large?     In  the  winter,  when  all    nature  was 
robed  in  snow — and  the  rivers  and   lakes  bound  in  the  cold 
grip   of  ice  —  the    colonist's    leather   shoes    could    not   protect 
his  feet  from  damp  and  cold  so  effectually  as  do  our  gum 
shoes  of  to-day.     If  their  necessities,  or  duties,  or  pleasures, 
caused  them  to  travel,  what  difficulties  they  were  necessitated 
to    encounter!     There   are    many  living    that    remember    the 
ponderous    and    ungainly    Conestoga    wagon     that     traveled 
from  this  city  to  the  east  and  west,  and  many  also  that  have 
traveled   in   stage    coaches    hence    to    New    York,    the    time 


LITERATURE.  33 

requiring  three  days,  and  now  that  place  is  reached  in  as 
many  hours!  The  lumbering  family  carriages  of  the  richer 
colonists  would  bring  a  smile  to  the  face  of  the  present 
generation,  accustomed  to  the  fairy-like  vehicles  of  to-day.  No 
mind,  howsoever  imaginative,  could  have  foreseen,  in  those 
days,  the  rapid  transit — the  palatial  cars  now  constructed 
with  the  most  recherche  upholstering,  heated  with  steam 
lighted  with  gas,  furnished  with  lounges  rivaling  eastern  otto 
mans,  luxurious  beds  that  will  lull  to  sleep  the  weariest, 
ice-water  served  in  cut-glass  goblets — with  books,  magazines, 
and  newspapers,  sold  on  every  train.  Could  they  of  olden 
time  but  see  this,  it  would  appear  like  a  dream — more  than 
realizing  the  gorgeous  imagery  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  The 
ancient  post-office  was  a  very  conservative  institution.  If,  dur 
ing  the  last  century,  a  letter  was  sent  to  Europe  from  any  part 
of  the  colonies,  the  sender  scarcely  expected  a  response  before 
the  termination  of  three  months.  Now,  a  letter  may  be 
sent  thither,  and  a  reply  received  in  one  month!  These  are 
certainly  great  and  valuable  revolutions;  but  how  inferior 
when  compared  with  the  marvels  of  the  telegraph!  To  illus 
trate  the  acceleration  of  thought  through  these  two  mediums 
would  require  a  generalizing  mind  greater  even  than  Bacon's. 
We  can  only  partially  conceive  the  various  benefits  to  man 
kind  of  the  telegraph,  by  reflecting  for  a  moment  how  many 
lives,  how  much  money,  would  have  been  saved  to  this 
country  and  England,  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  that 
of  1812.  All  are  aware  that  weeks  intervened  between  the 
declaring  of  peace,  and  the  making  it  known  on  this  side 
of  the  ocean.  How  much  would  the  colonists  have  given, 
if  they  could  have  communicated  with  a  sick  father,  or 
i 


34  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

mother,  or    son,   or   daughter!      Such    blessings    are    difficult 

to  appreciate;  and  we,  who  are  daily  enjoying  such  benefits 

by  its    aid,    pass  through    life  scarcely  cognizant  of  the  joys 

we  possess.     Thousands  still  living  will  remember  that,  prior 

to   1866,  the  newspapers  that  were  served  at  our  doors,  and 

laid   on    our   breakfast   tables,   were    eagerly  conned    for    the 

arrival  of  steamers  with  foreign  news.     Now,  by  the  Atlantic 

cables,  each  morning  we  read   the   news  of  the  day!     Truly, 

how  great  is  man,  to  render  the  elements  subservient  to  his 

purposes  in  the  conducting  of  thought! 

LITERATURE    IN    1776   AND    1876. 

This  is  a  theme  to  which,  even  with  the  widest  expansion, 
it  is   difficult  to  do  entire  justice.     A  Motley,  a  Bancroft,  an 
Irving,  could  justly  fill  many  volumes  relative  to  the  subject; 
and  yet  be  wholly  free  from  the  charge  of  "padding."     Minu 
tiae  we    must   avoid;    to   generalize  we  shall    attempt.     Until 
some  twenty  years   ago,   the   poverty  of  American    literature 
was   a   by-word:    the    Quarterly  Review   put   the    memorable 
question-  "Who  reads  an  American  book?"     In  the  question 
there  was  more  truth   than   impertinence.      Literature,  in    the 
early   period    of    colonial    times,  was    nearly   all    of    English 
origin:    -in    fact    the    mother   country   so    devised    the    Taws 
regulating  her  dependencies,  as  to  repress,  rather  than  foster' 
^oth  printing  and   literary  efforts;   and  prevent  also   the  rise 
any  species  of  manufacture.     It  was  her  policy  so  to  act 
was    deemed    necessary   that    the    interests    of    the    manu 
factures  of    England   should   reign   paramount  over  all   other 
considerations.      The    mother   country  demanded,   in   a  spirit 
of    exacting    severity,    that    her    children,   wherever    situated 


LITERATURE.  35 

should  act  solely  in  her  behalf.  Through  this  partially 
necessary  tyranny,  she  made  herself  "the  envy  of  the  world, 
and  the  admiration  of  surrounding  nations."  The  simile  of 
a  family  which  is,  in  its  every  day  acts,  modified  by  peculiar 
circumstances,  was  by  English  statesmen  carried  out  to  the 
very  letter.  But — year  by  year,  day  by  day  —  an  almost 
imperceptible  demand  of  the  means  to  satisfy  certain  daily 
wants  was  felt  by  ingenious  men,  and  manufactures  pro 
gressed  in  spite  of  prohibitory  laws.  In  printing  was  made 
one  of  the  earliest  efforts,  by  mechanical  skill,  to  meet  the 
growing  needs.  The  first  book  printed  in  America  was 
"The  Psalms  in  Metre,  faithfully  translated  for  the  Use,  Edi 
fication,  and  Comfort  of  the  Saints  in  Public  and  in  Private, 
especially  in  New  England:"  printed  at  Cambridge,  Mass., 
in  1640.  That  version  was  made  by  Thomas  Wclde,  of 
Roxbury;  Richard  Mather,  of  Dorchester,  and  John  Elliot, 
the  famous  apostle  to  the  Indians.  The  Bible  translated  by 
the  latter,  from  the  English  into  the  Indian  dialect,  is  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  works  of  which  this  country  can  boast. 
This  valuable  book,  in  American  literature,  has  sold  for 
$800.  Mrs.  Bradstreet's  poems  were  published,  also,  in  1640; 
and  their  quaint  and  peculiar  style  renders  them,  to  all 
bibliopoles,  the  choicest  of  the  choice. 

One  of  the  greatest  minds  that  the  seventeenth  century 
produced  in  New  England  was  Cotton  Mather.  Says  Gris- 
wold  —  in  the  "Poets  and  Poetry  of  America,"  p.  21:  "He 
was  once  revered  as  a  saint,  and  is  still  regarded  as  a  man  of 
good  natural  abilities  and  profound  and  universal  learning. 
It  is  true  that  he  had  much  of  what  is  called  scholarship;  he 
could  read  many  languages;  and  his  attainments,  curious 


36  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

rather  than  valuable,  made  him  resemble  a  complicate  ma 
chine,  which,  turned  by  the  water  from  year  to  year,  pro 
duces  only  bubble  and  spray,  and  rainbows  in  the  sun. 
He  was  industrious;  and,  beside  his  382  printed  works, 
left  many  manuscripts.  *  *  His  minor  works  are  nearly 
all  forgotten  except  by  antiquaries."  The  Magnalia  Christi 
Americana  is  preserved  as  a  curiosity,  rather  than  as  an 
authority.  The  literature  of  New  England  consisted  chiefly 
of  dogmatic  theology.  It  was  tinctured  with  all  the  intol 
erance  and  bigotry  of  the  early  protestants  in  Europe. 
Witches  were  frequently  burned  at  the  stake — no  opinion  was 
tolerated  in  antagonism  to  their  puritan  doctrines.  "Blue 
Laws"  were  the  result  of  their  severe  polities;  and  their 
ordinances  were  executed  with  a  rigid  exactitude  that  religi 
ous  biogtry  alone  can  sanction.  If  their  religious  views  were 
productive  of  the  most  serious  calamities  that  can  happen 
to  the  human  race,  we  cannot  but  admire  the  stern  and 
unbending  principles  which  have  developed  more  eminent 
thinkers  than  have  appeared  in  any  other  section  of  our 
land.  Jonathan  Edwards  had  a  vigorous  and  powerful  mind ; 
and  his  works  are  admired  and  valued  in  Europe  among 
theologians  as  of  the  first  rank.  His  work  on  the  "Will," 
is  one  of  the  best  known  books  on  the  subject;  and  has 
given  birth  to  more  controversial  works,  relating  to  this  sub 
ject,  than  has  any  other  book  in  the  English  language.  The 
struggles  of  truth  to  free  itself  from  sectarian  fetters  have 
been  protracted  and  severe ;  but,  though  its  progress  be 
slow,  its  march  of  distances  being  scarcely  perceptible,  save 
by  decades  —  nevertheless  its  mission  is  sure  of  ultimate 
accomplishment.  The  southern  colonies  were  established  on 


LITERATURE.  37 

a  more  liberal  religious  basis;  and  chiefly  adopted  the  articles 
of  the  English  established  church.  We  are  not  inclined  to 
assert  that  there  were  not  any  religious  frays  and  persecu 
tions;  but,  at  least,  there  were  not  a  Salem  witchcraft  tragedy 
and  Blue  Laws.  It  can  scarcely  be  presumed  that  the  liberal 
and  learned  John  Locke, — that  heralder  of  truth  which  startled 
kings,  and  struck  awe  into  contemporary  bigotry,  —  would 
not  have  been  permitted  to  draw  up  the  fundamental  laws 
for  Carolina  had  not  religious  toleration  reigned.  By  states 
men  and  scholars  those  laws  are  ranked  with  Plato's 
Republic,  More's  Utopia,  or  Harrington's  Oceana.  It  has 
been  wisely  said  that  history  teaches  philosophy  by  example 
-hence  generalizers  of  history  are  responsible  only  for 
deductions  drawn.  The  literary  productions  of  the  southern 
colonies  were  poor  and  scanty  —  though  their  wealthy  men 
were  well  educated  —  and  in  belles-lettres  were  superior  to 
the  same  class  in  the  northern  provinces;  yet  they  failed  to 
add  any  works  of  merit  to  colonial  literature.  This  appears 
strange,  when  we  reflect,  that  the  wealthier  planters  often 
despatched  their  sons  to  Europe  for  the  easier  acquirement 
of  a  thorough  education.  They  were  of  the  same  race  as 
those  in  the  north  whose  works  were  the  admiration  of 
students  abroad.  It  is  evident  that  it  was  not  for  want  of 
capacity,  nor  for  the  want  of  proper  culture  and  develop 
ment.  May  not  the  warm,  glowing  sun  of  the  south  have 
rendered  them  inert?  This  is  the  only  philosophical  view 
we  can  take  of  it,  and,  to  a  great  extent  even  now,  (like 
causes  are  producing  like  effects.  (Climate  means  race-variety; 
therefore,  differentiation  of  powers  and  capabilities.)  Northern 
men  who  have,  either  from  choice  or  necessity,  spent  a  few 
K 


38  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

years  in  the  south,  invariably  admit  that,  yearly,  their  energies 
were  on  the  wane.  Nay— we,  in  the  north,  during  the  sum 
mer  months,  admit  the  same  fact  — we  become  inert  and 
listless  in  our  habits  —  have  scarcely  nerve  enough  to  do 
anything.  But  if  the  south  lacked  in  literary  productions, 
it  was  eminently  conspicuous  on  the  forum;  and  in  Congress, 
where  ability  and  eloquence  were  needful.  The  stimulus  of 
politics  alone  seemed  capable  of  bringing  out  the  latent 
genius  which  was  intermittently  displayed  so  brilliantly  by 
southern  men  in  the  senate,  and  at  the  bar.  A  glance  over 
the  names  of  those  men  from  the  south  that  graced  the 
senate  and  the  house  of  representatives  at  Washington,  since 
the  government  settled  there,  until  thirty  years  ago,  will 
exhibit  the  fact  that  for  eloquence, — full  of  strength,  fire  and 
classical  learning,  and  for  able  statesmanship, — they  were  not 
excelled,  scarcely  equaled,  in  the  aggregate,  by  the  members 
from  other  states.  The  newspapers,  during  the  colonial  times, 
were  but  very  feeble  agents  in  modeling,  or  changing,  the 
course  of  public  opinion.  This  now  formidable  power  is 
to-day  a  new  estate  in  the  world.  The  two-page  folio  news- 
sheets  of  the  last  century  dwindle  into  insignificance  when 
compared  with  our  present  comprehensive  journals.  Their 
object  was  apparently  accomplished  in  the  presenting  of  a 
bare  record  of  small  items  and  news,  picked  up  here  and 
there,  with  a  few  advertisements  of  runaway  slaves,  goods 
for  sale,  and  the  arrival  of  vessels  in  the  various  ports.  The 
press  was  not  then  a  recognized  agent  of  the  government; 
it  was  conducted  in  a  crude  and  simple  manner  by  printers 
and  merchants, — not  by  professional  scholars.  The  calm  and 
stable  opinions  of  society  were  not  in  the  slightest  degree 


LITERA  TURE.  39 

ruffled  by  any  "leading"  article;  no  flaming  captions  at  the 
head  of  the  columns  sent  any  quickening  impulses  through 
eager  minds; — all  was  calm  as  a  summer's  day.  By  degrees, 
the  press  of  Europe  began  a  new  life;  its  effects  were  soon 
apparent  here;  men  of  letters  and  of  business  saw  that  they 
must  be  up  and  doing;  a  new  creative  power  had  sprung  into 
existence.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century,  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  among  the  most  distinguished  of  newspaper 
men,  and  his  "Gazette,"  among  the  pioneers  of  the  new  era 
for  America.  The  influence  of  the  press  may  be  said  to 
have  begun  to  fully  disclose  itself  about  the  beginning  of 
this  century;  and  that  influence  soon  made  itself  felt  here. 

The  publication  of  books,  with  the  exception  of  works 
relating  to  dogmatic  theology.  The  issues  from  the  press 
of  VV.  Bradford, — an  energetic  man  who  figured  among 
the  leading  spirits  of  Pennsylvania  during  the  latter  por 
tion  of  the  seventeenth  century, — during  the  last  decade 
moved  to  New  York.  His  first  issues,  controversial  and 
others,  appeared  in  1685,  and  a  full  list  of  those  publications, 
now  valuable  to  the  bibliomaniac  alone,  can  be  seen  in  the 
"Historical  Magazine."  The  commencement  of  this  century 
is  a  fair  starting  point  from  which  national  literature  can 
be  traced  distinctly,  though  in  a  faint  degree.  The  famous 
printing  firms  of  Europe  have  scarcely  excelled,  in  beauty 
of  typical  form  —  fine  calendered  paper — good  black  ink- 
the  Bible,  in  two  folio  volumes,  printed  by  A.  Small,  of  Phila 
delphia.  That  was  not  the  first  Bible  printed  in  America; 
one  was  printed  by  Robert  Aitkin  of  Philadelphia,  by  order 
of  congress,  1782,  in  i8mo.,  and  this  was  the  only  Bible  ever 
printed  in  this  country  under  official  sanction.  Occasionally, 


40  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

this  Bible  is  found  bound  in  volume,  and  again  in  two 
parts,  and  is  the  first  American  English  Bible  bearing  the 
American  imprint.  But  in  1752,  Kneeland  and  Greene 
printed  in  Boston  a  Bible  bearing  the  imprint  of  Mark 
Baskett,  Lond.:  small  quarto,  1752.  To  the  American  critical 
student  the  collection  of  the  American  editions  of  the  Bible  is 
one  of  great  interest,  and  the  writer,  who  once  took  great  in 
terest  in  collecting  them,  refers  with  pleasure  to  the  valuable 
and  unrivaled  collection  of  James  Lenox,  Esq.,  of  New 
York.  The  progress  of  the  states  in  solid  wealth,  after  peace 
was  declared,  was  very  rapid;  the  liberals  of  Europe,  from 
England  especially,  flocked  to  America  as  the  country  in 
which  freedom  of  thought,  and  a  free  scope  for  their  physical 
energies,  was  each  man's  birthright.  One  of  the  most  notable 
of  English  immigrants  was  Thomas  Paine,  who  arrived  in 
America  in  1774.  His  sterling  abilities  were,  through  the 
helpful  patronage  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  quickly  and  fully 
recognized :  he  contributed  to  the  newspapers  and  magazines, 
-and  his  power  was  soon  felt  and  appreciated.  When 
"Common  Sense"  appeared,  it  acted  on  the  minds  of  the 
people  so  instantaneously  that  it  went  like  wildfire  through 
every  house,  and  into  every  camp.  It  gave  encouragement 
to  the  doubting — solace  to  the  despairing — new  vigor  to  the 
continental  congress  —  elasticity  to  the  movements  of  the 
officials;  and  cheered  both  officer  and  soldier  who  were  suf 
fering  in  their  comfortless  quarters  during  the  severe  winter. 
Paine's  logical  and  convincing  arguments — couched  in  sweet 
colloquial  English  — will  ever  render  this  pamphlet  one  of 
the  most  notable  efforts  in  American  literature.  His  "Crisis,1 
"Rights  of  Man,"  "Letters,"  etc.,  though  ably  written,  and 


LITERATURE.  41 

productive  of  much  good,  arc  secondary,  in  many  points,  to 
the  first-named  masterpiece.  It  has  struck  the  writer  with 
deep  regret  that  Paine,  who  contributed  so  much  toward  the 
independence  of  this  country,  and  produced  works  of  mas 
terly  skill  which  rank  with  the  best  efforts  in  the  language, 
should  in  many  cases  be  omitted,  and  in  other  places 
very  meagerly  mentioned.  Let  us  hope  that  American 
authors  will  not  in  the  future  pass  over  so  summarily  the 
genius  of  that  great  man;  but,  giving  to  him  the  honor  due 
his  merits,  reflect  increased  honor  upon  the  land  of  his 
adoption.  The  English  government,  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century,  drove  thousands  of  her  best  citizens  to  our  shores 
by  the  political  and  religious  tyranny  which  it  exercised 
over  them.  Many  of  her  worthiest  sons,  who  loved  that 
freedom  of  speech  and  action  which  we  enjoy,  placed  their 
fortunes  and  abilities  at  the  service  of  the  nascent  republic. 
Many  of  these,  devoted  to  literature,  embarked  the  means 
they  possessed  in  the  publication  of  books;  and  these,  in 
nearly  every  case,  were  reprints  from  the  best  English 
editions.  From  1800  to  1824  the  issues  of  the  various  pub 
lishing  houses  were,  in  all  respects,  equal  to  those  of  the 
English  houses.  In  many  cases  they  were  put  forth  in  the 
same  number  of  volumes,  printed  with  similar  type,  on  excel 
lent  paper,  and  with  good  black  ink.  As  a  general  rule, 
our  foremost  publishers  do  not  now  equal  those  issues - 
from  1800  to  1824— in  regard  to  either  paper,  or  press- work. 
The  National  Library  at  Washington  could  establish  this 
important  historical  fact  as  it  relates  to  our  social  and 
mental  progress.  The  works  of  C.  Brockden  Brown  mark  a 
new  era,  in  the  production  of  the  first  American  novels. 
L 


42  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

Their  priority,  in  American  literature,  is  better  known  than 
their  merits.  There  is  a  weird  and  wayward  fancy,  every 
where  cropping  out,  in  his  fictions;  had  he  but  lived  amid 
the  surroundings  of  our  spiritualists,  he  would  have  out- 
rivalled,  in  their  fantasies,  even  Home  or  Davis.  Nathaniel 
Bowditch  stands  out  in  bold  relief;  his  translation  of  the 
Mecanqtie  Celeste,  of  La  Place,  even  in  this  day  would 
merit  what  the  London  Quarterly  Review  said  of  it,  when 
the  first  volume  appeared:  "the  idea  savoured  of  the  gigan- 
tesque."  As  we  have  particularized,  without  relation  to 
classification,  the  most  prominent  epochs  in  our  literary 
history,  during  the  first  fifty  years  of  this  century,  we  shall 
now  treat  of  classes  rather  than  persons. 

THEOLOGY. 

In  another  part  of  this  essay  we  have  made  some  general 
remarks  concerning  theological  writers.  It  is  only  in  this 
department  of  literature  that  it  can  be  alleged  that  we  have 
not  made  any  decided  progress  over  the  writers  of  the 
colonial  period.  It  may  truly  be  said  that  an  Edwards,  a 
Cotton  Mather,  a  John  Elliott,  or  a  Newman,  may  not  now 
be  found.  Europe  knows  of  the  plain,  child-like  simplicity  of 
Albert  Barnes's  "Notes"  on  the  Scriptures;  and  thousands 
of  ministers,  teachers,  and  students  have  spent  many  happy 
hours  in  arguing  over  his  common  sense  commentaries.  The 
name  of  Alexander  is  revered  among  his  admirers ;  his  depth 
of  thought  and  logicalness  of  reasoning  won  for  him  high 
fame.  Timothy  Dwight  holds  a  prominent  position  both 
here  and  in  Europe;  his  writings  are  reprinted  in  England. 
Yale  College  has  added  other  bright  stars  to  the  galaxy  of 


THEOLOGY,  43 

national    authors  who  reflect   great   credit   on    her   teachings. 
Dr.   Hodge   has   written    many  profound  works   on   theology, 
which    are    admired    abroad    for    the    thorough    learning   and 
critical  acumen  evinced.     Bishop  England,  of  South  Carolina, 
and  Bishop  Hughes,  of  New  York,  rank  high  in  their  church 
as  men  both  of  great  ability  and  profound  learning.     George 
Bush's    critical    and    illustrative    writings    on    the    Bible    are 
eminent   in  biblical    literature;  and  Bishop  Hopkins  is  famed 
for    his    masterly    controversial    articles.      Dr.  Jarvis's    works 
are    characterized    with    deep    biblical    learning    and    sterling 
criticism.     The   travels   and    researches  of   Dr.   Robinson,   in 
the    Holy    L'and,  will    ever    be    referred    to    by    the   biblical 
student  as  an  inexhaustible  fountain  of  knowledge.      Moses 
Stuart,  as   a    Hebrew   student,   will    not   easily   be    forgotten. 
Dr.  McClintock's  great  biblical  work  bids  fair  to  stand  com 
parison  with  the  ablest  European  works.      Other  writers  are 
numerous,  all    of   whom    are    men    of  varied    abilities.     The 
enumeration  of  colonial   and   later  writers   on   theology,  it   is 
presumed,  will  show,  in  this  special  department,  that  no  very 
marked  additions  are  made   that   outrival   the   earlier  writers. 
But  the  progress  of  modern  thought  has  raised  many  barriers, 
in  opposition  to  the  doctrines  of  religion,  of  which  the  writers 
of  the  colonial  period  had  no  knowledge.      Dogmatical    the 
ology  is  not  progressive;  it  is  the  same  now  as  it  was  during 
the    days  of   the   early  fathers  of   the    church.      No  one  can 
appreciate  the  blessings  of  liberty,  unless  he  has  to  a  certain 
extent   suffered   under  the  oppressions  of  the  opposite  state. 
Those  who  are    living,  and   have  passed    through  fifty  years 
of  life,  and  who   have   been    interested    in   the  progress  and 
development  of  the  mind,  remember  well  how  much  courage 


44  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

it  required  to  avow  any  doctrines  that  clashed  with  the 
orthodox  views  of  the  day.  Within  the  last  forty  years,  in 
England,  men  have  been  thrown  into  prison  for  selling  Shel 
ley's  "Queen  Mab,"  Paine's  "Age  of  Reason,"  and  other 
books  of  a  similar  nature.  If  we  cannot  find  instances  in 
this  country,  during  that  period,  of  men  having  been  impris 
oned  for  their  religious  opinions,  yet  many  of  us  know  that 
to  attempt  to  scale  the  invisible  barricades  of  religious 
prejudice,  would  have  brought  upon  the  hardy  adventurer  a 
social  tabooing — an  ostracisement  from  society,  which  often 
carries  with  it  both  loss  of  business  and  of  character.  The 
blessings  of  religious  liberty, — true,  free  and  fearless,  as  it 
now  is, — are  joys  which  the  colonists  of  old  could  not  foresee 
—a  free,  unshackled  mind  is  the  boon  of  but  few  free  coun 
tries;  and  the  care  that  this,  and  future  generations,  should 
take  to  guard  it,  should  never  cease.  •> 

HISTORY. 

To  have  the  scholarly  acquirements,  and  the  talent— or 
genius — which  are  requisite  for  an  historian,  falls  but  seldom 
to  the  lot  of  any  nation.  The  colonists  did  not  produce 
a  single  historian  that  may  now  take  his  place  as  a  classic. 
Most  of  the  colonies  had  their  local  historians:  Virginia, 
Homer  and  Smith;  Pennsylvania,  Proud;  New  Jersey,  Smith; 
Massachusetts,  Hutchinson,  and  Hubbard,  and  Prince;  Rhode 
Island,  Callender;  New  York,  Denton  and  Cadwallader;  New 
Hampshire  (in  the  colonial  period  part  of  Massachusetts), 
Belknap;  South  Carolina,  Ramsey.  These  writers  are  spe 
cially  known  to  the  historian  and  the  antiquary;  and  are 
valuable  only  as  records  of  bare  facts.  The  charms  of 


HISTORY.  45 

style  —  the  graces  of  composition  —  picturesque  and  eloquent 
expression — with  the  power  of  correctly  massing  facts  and 
masterly  generalizations,  are  but  feebly  displayed.  In  this 
province  of  literature  we  have  made  great  and  glorious  pro 
gress.  Frederick  von  Raumer,  the  eminent  German  historian, 
states:  "Bancroft,  Prescott,  and  Sparks,  have  effected  so  much 
in  historical  composition  that  no  living  European  historian 
can  take  precedence  of  them,  but  rather  might  feel  proud 
and  grateful  to  be  admitted  as  a  companion."  It  is  over 
forty  years  since  that  eloquent  tribute  was  offered,  and  since 
that  period  we  have  added  to  the  list  a  Motley,  a  Draper,  a 
Parkman  and  a  Ticknor.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  three 
American  historians  should  have  chosen  European  history 
as  their  themes, — and  made  them  classic.  Prescott's  "Peru," 
"Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  "Philip  II."  and  "Charles  V.,"  pre 
sent  the  most  lucid  and  picturesque  account  that  history  can 
relate.  Ticknor's  "History  of  the  Spanish  Literature"  does 
not  admit  of  the  scope  and  variety  of  treatment  of  a  history 
of  a  people;  but  it  is  a  monument  of  industry  and  learning 
creditable  to  himself  and  to  his  country.  Motley's  Histories 
of  the  "Dutch  Republic,"  and  the  "Netherlands,"  and  "John 
Barneveld,"  though  wanting  the  terseness  and  perspicacity 
of  Prescott,  are  yet,  in  historical  portraiture,  massively  and 
finely  drawn;  while  in  philosophical  generalizing,  at  least,  he 
surpasses  him.  Let  us  hope  that  Motley  will  live  to  finish 
his  galaxy  of  Netherland  heroes,  in  his  forthcoming  work, 
"The  History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War."  Draper's  "History 
of  civilization  in  Europe,"  is  ranked  among  scholars  and 
thinkers  as  not  inferior  to  Buckle's  great  work.  Brancroft's 
"History  of  the  United  States,"  now  finished,  has  earned 
M 


46  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

its  title  as  a  classic.  Though  occasionally  tinctured  with  the 
schoolisms  of  New  England,  which  tend  to  injure  and  do 
injustice  to  various  personages,  it  still  stands  without  a  rival. 
Many  weak  sentences  and  occasional  defective  phraseology, 
with  slip-shod  writing,  detract  slightly  from  its  merits, — faults 
which  the  public  ought  not  to  expect,  when  several  years 
have  elapsed  between  the  issues  of  the  several  volumes. 
Washington  Irving,  the  Goldsmith  of  America,  may  take  an 
honorable  place.  If  he  lacks  the  generalizing  power  and 
philosophical  acumen  of  Prescott  and  Motley,  his  clear, 
charming  style  will  always  cause  his  histories  to  be  read 
and  admired.  Many  other  admirable  histories,  well  worthy 
of  note,  and  reflecting  credit  on  the  writers  and  honor  on 
their  country,  have  appeared;  but  limited  space  prevents  here 
even  the  most  summary  mention  of  them. 

NOVELS. 

Fiction,  during  the  colonial  times,  had  little  influence 
over  society.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth, 
and  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  centuries,  it  was,  indeed, 
entirely  unknown  as  a  home  production.  Fiction  first  arose 
in  England  as  almost  a  new  element  in  society,  under  the 
genius  of  Richardson.  Some  few  previous  puerile  efforts 
may  be  found --but  they  were  abortive.  It  was  left  to 
Richardson  to  fairly  start  this  new  joy  in  English  society; 
and  thence  it  reacted  with  the  same  vigor  on  the  colonists. 
When  Macaulay,  with  his  splendid  genius,  read  these  works 
throughout  fifteen  different  times,  their  merit  must  be  greater 
than  is  acknowledged  by  the  present  generation.  However 
that  may  be,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  "Pamela,"  "Sir  Charles 


NOVELS.  47 

Grandison,"  and  "Clarissa,"  created  the  most  marked  sensa 
tion  for  a  longer  period  of  time  than  did  subsequently  any 
other  novels  prior  to  the  conceptions  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
The  touching  pathos,  and  sweet,  overflowing  sentimentality, 
drew  forth  involuntary  tears  from  thousands  of  readers. 
Plot  they  had  none,  as  we  now  understand  novels  —  but 
narrative  in  epistolary  form  was  the  medium  employed.  The 
touching  of  the  hidden  springs  of  nature  by  Richardson 
won  such  success  that  novels  cropped  out,  as  it  were,  by 
hundreds  to  try  and  outrival  him.  Miss  Burney  ranks  with 
the  most  successful  of  that  age;  but  to  Fielding,  in  "Tom 
Jones,"  may  justly  be  ascribed  the  origin  of  the  construction 
of  the  modern  novel. 

Smollet  and  others  followed  in  quick  succession,  until  this 
new  literary  institution  became  permanently  amalgamated 
with  the  whole  frame  of  society.  The  influence  arising  from 
those  works  of  fiction  has  undoubtedly  greatly  aided  in  the 
formation  of  national  character.  In  another  part  of  this 
essay,  it  is  mentioned  that  Brockden  Brown  was  the  first  of 
American  novelists;  not  many  years  later  our  native  authors 
rushed  into  the  field,  and  gave  us  also  a  national  reputation. 
Cooper  ranks  highest  of  all  —  even  as  compared  with  the 
sea-novelists  of  England,  he  stands  second  to  none.  His 
Leather  Stocking  Tales  are  among  the  most  popular  of 
his  writings  —  although  his  Indians  are  too  much  idealized. 
There  is  a  naturalness  in  his  style, — independent,  and  holding 
itself  aloof  from  the  over-nice  canons  of  criticism, — giving  to 
all  his  productions  a  distinctive  and  national  flavor.  He  is 
the  first  American  novelist  that  has  placed  an  American 
impression  on  his  writings.  We  wish  to  place  upon  record 


48  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

that, — having  as  a  basis  our  professional  experience  as  a 
librarian,  and  taking  an  average  of  fifteen  years,— where  one 
book  of  any  other  American  author  is  read,  Cooper's  works 
are  read  ten  times  oftener.  Bird,  Kennedy,  and  Hoffman, — his 
contemporaries, — are  read  only,  and  that  but  occasionally,  by 
a  few  now  living  who  read  them  in  their  younger  days. 
Paulding's  novels,  though  full  of  natural  spirit  and  marked 
peculiarities,  are  too  much  neglected;  they  have  a  breadth 
of  humor  striking  and  congenial.  Miss  Sedgwick  is,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  Miss  Edgeworth  of  America.  The  stories 
of  Hawthorne  stand  preeminent  in  American  imaginative 
literature.  There  is  a  weirdness  in  his  creations,  and  a 
metaphysical  subtlety'  pervading  the  whole  atmosphere - 
combined  with  ease  and  clearness  of  style — that  insure  him 
immortality.  His  works  are  published  in  England  in  various 
styles  and,  judging  from  the  number  sold,  and  the  high 
appreciation  manifested  for  his  powers,  there  is  probably  a 
greater  quantity  of  his  productions  annually  disposed  of. 
Edgar  A.  Poe, — that  most  original  and  most  brilliant  of  all 
American  imaginative  writers, — how  various  in  his  works! 
how  erratic  in  his  life!  If  America  had  produced  but  a 
Hawthorne  and  a  Poe,  she  could  find  few  to  surpass  them 
in  that  peculiar  field  of  English  literature.  The  Tale  of  the 
Morgue  and  other  sketches  are  the  creations  of  a  mind  of 
rare  and  singular  power.  He  had  the  genius  to  invent  plots 
of  the  most  startling  nature  —  point  them  with  a  pre-Raph- 
aelite  minuteness  that  made  them  sparkle  with  mosaics  of 
thought  —  and  with  such  a  strong  resemblance  to  truth,  that 
all  the  scenes  seem  to  be  actual.  In  mental  psychological 
effects,  he  distances  both  George  Walker  and  Anne  Rad- 


HUMOROUS  FICTION.  49 

cliffe,  Maria  Roche  and  Mrs.  Crowe.  Few  minds  are  to  be 
found  in  the  highest  walks  of  English  literature  that  equal 
him  in  powers  of  analysis.  As  a  poet,  his  "Raven,"  and 
"Annabel  Lee,"  are  as  immortal  as  Goldsmith's  "Deserted 
Village,"  or  Gray's  "Elegy."  One  of  the  most  superb  pro 
ductions  of  the  English  press  is  a  fine  illustrated  edition 
of  Poe's  Poetical  Works.  In  the  highest  conception  of 
creative  genius  we  consider  that  Poe  stands  alone  in  Amer 
ican  literature.  Mrs.  Stowe's  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  must  be 
named  as  a  book  of  rare  merit.  It  has  been  translated  into 
all  the  modern  languages.  Howell,  Hale,  Higginson,  Warner, 
and  many  others,  have  written  pleasant  books  but  without 
any  special  characterization. 

HUMOROUS    FICTION. 

If  America  cannot  add  to  the  galaxy  of  fictional  fame  as 
many  names  as  England — she  can,  at  least,  with  her  peculiar 
humorists  of  this  day,  maintain  her  ground.  We  may 
cordially  admit  that  it  is  not  so  refined  as  that  of  Hook, 
Hood,  Jerrold,  Thackeray,  or  Dickens;  it  is  broader  and 
lustier  in  its  nature.  If  it  lacks  the  flavor  of  Oxford  or 
Cambridge,  it  has  the  flavor  of  our  people  who  toil  on  the 
land — who  build  cities  in  a  few  weeks — who  make  railroads 
across  the  continent — and  disturb  more  virgin  soil  than  all 
the  other  nations  of  the  world  combined.  Such  a  state  of 
society  wakens  more  energies  —  creates  more  devices  —  and 
throws  out  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  things,  which  creates  a 
peculiar  grotesqueness  that  reflects  itself  on  the  character 
of  the  people.  This  humorous  vein  of  society  can  be  seen 
more  fully  in  "Burton's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Wit  and 

N 


50  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

Humor,"  than  in  any  other  book  published.  Artemus  Ward 
seems  to  have  opened  a  new  vein,  not  even  recognized 
before  in  Europe.  His  humor  is  of  the  grotesque,  without 
being  refined.  His  manner  of  speaking,  before  the  public, 
was  far  more  humorous  than  his  written  matter.  He  had  a 
quaint  and  droll  manner  of  expression,  which  is  almost  lost 
in  his  books.  Josh  Billings  is  a  reflex  of  the  same  school 
—  but  his  sayings  are  more  replete  with  wisdom.  Mark 
Twain  does  not  depend  on  the  grotesqueness  of  his  spelling 
of  words, — like  Ward  and  Billings, — but  a  ready  dash  of 
genuine  humor  flavored  with  genuine  Americanisms.  His 
drolleries  are  his  chief  qualities;  his  very  extravagancies  are 
laughable  and  enjoyable.  The  "Innocents  Abroad"  will 
always  be  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  laughter;  his  other 
works  are  somewhat  weaker;  and  it  is,  probable  that  the 
"  Innocents  Abroad "  will  rank  as  his  ablest  production. 
Bret  Harte's  humor,  though  of  the  western  type-like  Mark 
Twain's,  and  flavored  with  California  life  —  is  yet  more 
idealized  and  moves  in  a  narrower  circle.  The  "Heathen 
Chinee,"  by  its  peculiar,  dry,  Californian  humor,  has ,  taken 
a  permanent  position  in  English  humorous  poetry.  Many 
miserable  imitations  have  appeared,  but  have  sunk  into 
oblivion. 


POETRY. 


Mention  has  already  been  made  of  some  of  the  earlier 
poems  of  the  colonial  period ;  but  none  have  earned  a 
prominent  rank  in  the  poetic  annals  of  the  country.  The 
highest  type  of  poetry,  the  epic  and  dramatic,  has  in  this 
country  not  yet  found  a  creditable  exponent  Poe  and 


GENERAL  LITERATURE.  51 

Longfellow  merit  the  highest  niche  in  the  American  poetic 
temple.  Bryrant's  "  Thanatopsis,"  in  descriptive  pastoral 
beauty,  is  difficult  to  surpass.  There  is  a  grace  and  beauty 
pervading  the  whole  of  his  poems  that  will  always  be 
charming  to  read.  Lowell,  Whittier,  Holmes,  Saxe,  and 
Stoddard,  are  men  of  varied  talents  whose  works  have  grati 
fied  thousands.  The  song  writers  of  America  are  but  few. 
John  Howard  Payne,  struggling  with  poverty  and  adversity, 
wrote  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  in  a  garret  in  Paris.  Russell, 
though  living  in  London,  has  added  many  sweet  and  lively 
songs. 

GENERAL    LITERATURE. 

In  what  is  understood  as  belles  lettres  the  colonists  added 
but  little  of  any  merit.  During  this  century  many  eminent 
names  appear  that  reflect  extensive  scholarship  with  pro 
found  observation.  Dr.  Channing,  though  a  minister,  is 
more  distinguished  for  his  essays  than  his  sermons.  Edward 
Everett  is  one  of  the  most  refined  of  our  scholars;  his  style 
is  copious  and  chaste,  but  not  ornate.  Hugh  S.  Legare  is 
one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  chaste  of  writers.  John  C.  Cal- 
houn  possessed  a  powerful  and  analytic  mind;  his  "Essays 
on  Government"  are  among  the  very  best  of  their  class. 
The  Adams  family — from  John  to  Charles  Francis  Adams — are 
all  distinguished  as  men  of  great  views.  Daniel  Webster,  the 
orator  and  great  expounder  of  the  constitution,  will  ever 
rank  as  one  of  the  noblest  sons  of  America.  His  "Works," 
in  six  volumes,  will  always  be  a  text  book  for  the  statesman. 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  is  the  most  original  essayist  of  his 
age.  He  is  read  more  in  England  than  in  his  own  country. 
Charles  Sumner's  abilities  are  more  ornate  than  profound. 


52  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

The  great  dictionary  of  Noah  Webster  is  a  monument  of 
learning  and  industry.  There  are  many  other  names  deserv 
ing  of  mention  which  our  space  forbids  us  to  dwell  upon. 

LAW. 

There  were  but  few  inducements  to  the  colonists  to  study 
law — their  habits  did  not  create  many  causes  for  its  defence. 
The  commencement  of  the  Revolution  brought  into  public 
view  the  men  who  had  studied  colonial  law,  and  they 
became  the  most  famous  advocates  in  the  continental  con 
gress.  Patrick  Henry  and  John  Adams,  were  among  the 
most  eloquent  of  its  members.  The  works  on  jurisprudence 
are  marked  with  great  ability.  Learned  and  able  treatises,  on 
every  branch  of  the  law  are  very  numerous.  The  authority  of 
Kent,  Story,  Livingston — Greenleaf,  Bouvier,  and  others,  are 
are  well  known  in  Europe.  American  reports  regularly  sold 
in  England,  and  the  decisions  of  the  bench  have  often  been 
praised  by  the  English  Bar  for  clearness  and  profundity. 

ARTS   AND    SCIENCES. 

The  development  of  science  and  art  under  the  colonists 
was  almost  nil.  The  habits  of  society  were  rural  and  not 
scientific.  No  marked  era  can  be  found  previous  to  Godfrey, 
Rittenhouse,  Oliver  Evans,  and  Robert  Fulton.  Previous  to 
1776  no  authentic  record  exists  of  there  being  more  than 
two  steam-engines  in  the  thirteen  colonies;  one  at  Passaic, 
N.  J.;  the  other  at  Philadelphia.  But  the  industrial  interests 
of  the  states,  were  fairly  put  in  motion  after  the  peace  of 
1783.  Fitch,  and  Fulton  were  making  experiments  to  apply 
steam  to  vessels.  These  experiments  may  not  have  been 


ARTS  AND   SCIENCES.  53 

the  first  which  were  made — but  they  made  the  first  success 
ful  steamers.     This  was  a  great  revolution,  and  the  attention 
of  the  world   became    more   and    more    centred    on  America. 
The    inventions    that  are   everywhere    here  so   numerous,  are 
generally  of  that  practical  nature  which  benefits  every  one.    So 
common  are  the  inventions  of  Americans  that  they  find  their 
way  over  the  Atlantic  and  are  dubbed   "Yankee  inventions." 
The    reaping   machine  was    first   brought   to    perfection    here. 
Patents    for   agricultural    implements   of    every   kind    can    be 
counted  by  the  thousands.     The  sewing  machine,  that  greatest 
of  all  domestic  blessings,  was  invented  by  Howe,  and  many 
improvements  since  made  by  others  have  been  subsequently 
adopted.      The    comfort    and    joy   which    this    invention    has 
given    to    families    none   can    fully  describe.      The    telegraph 
is    an    American    invention,    and    its    world-wide    application 
and   benefits   are  daily  experienced.     The  name  of  Morse  is 
immortal;    various  and   important  additions  have   been  made 
to   his    mode    of    transmitting   messages    by   Wheatstone,    of 
England,  and  other  electricians,  but  the  most  important  mode 
is.  that  just  invented  by  T.  E.  Elison,  called  the  quadruplex 
machine.      It   will    send    four   messages   simultaneously  over 
one  wire,   thus  quadrupling  the  original    invention.      This   is 
a    marvel    of    science   and    its    benefits    to   the   world    are   at 
once   apparent.     Among  the  numerous  great  men  which  this 
country  has  added  to  the  roll  of  science,  Agassiz,  David  Dale 
Owen,  Leidy   and    Silliman    are    prominent.     This    continent 
opens  the  widest  field  for  further  discoveries.     California  and 
other  states  have  yielded   millions  of  dollars  worth  of  gold 
and    silver.      The  silver  in   Nevada  is  practically  inexhausti 
ble,  and  the  future  is  full  of  the  most  boundless  hope.     The 


o 


54  HISTORICAL   MONOGRAPH. 

oil  wells  of  Pennsylvania  have  yielded  their  millions  of 
gallons,  and  thus  far  without  sensible  diminution.  The  coal 
and  iron  of  Pennsylvania  will  always  class  this  state  as  one 
of  the  richest  in  the  Union.  Our  medical  colleges  in  various 
parts  of  the  Union  have  won  a  world-wide  reputation. 

We  have  briefly  touched  upon  nearly  all  topics  connected 
with  our  past  condition,  and  endeavored  to  show  that,  during 
the  progress  of  the  century  in  which  liberty  was  proclaimed 
to  the  world,  the  outgrowth  of  these  principles  has  been 
more  conducive  to  the  general  interests  of  humanity — and 
have  far  eclipsed  any  other  nation  under  any  other  form  of 
government.  Our  prayer  and  hope  is  that  the  year  1976 
will  still  further  prove  to  the  world  that,  under  republican 
institutions,  still  greater  progress,  and  still  greater  benefits 
will  be  shown. 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY    OF    THE 


THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL  STATES. 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  140,000  inhabitants.  In  1876,  nearly  325,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  9,280.  Present 
total  wealth,  $260,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $800. 

The  principal  collegiate  institutions  are  that  of  Dartmouth 
and  Phillips's  Exeter  Academy.  In  farm  and  orchard  pro 
ducts, — maple  sugar,  live  stock,  wool,  butter,  cheese;  also  in 
her  cotton  and  woolen  factories;  New  Hampshire  finds  her 
wealth  and  prosperity. 

In  1614  New  Hampshire  was  first  visited  by  European 
explorers;  and,  in  1623,  the  first  settlement  was  made  near 
Portsmouth.  Several  times  the  district  was  connected  with 
Massachusetts;  in  1679  was  made  a  royal  province;  in  1689 
was  again  joined  to  Massachusetts;  and  subsequently  was, 
for  a  short  period,  attached  to  New  York.  Finally,  in  1741, 
it  became  a  separate  province;  and  thus  remained  until 
the  dawning  of  the  revolutionary  war.  Before  the  English 
obtained  possession  of  Canada,  the  pioneer  settlers  were 
incessantly  and  severely  harassed  by  the  hostile  Indians. 
In  1689,  a  band  of  savages  attacked  Dover,  massacred  many 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  burnt  several  houses.  During  an 

55 


56  THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL   STATES. 

extended  period  of  time,  the  settlements  of  New  Hampshire 
were  gradually  extended  westwardly,  and  further  than  the 
original  limits  prescribed  by  her  patents;  and,  until  1764,  it 
was  generally  supposed  that  the  territory  at  present  included 
in  Vermont  formed  part  of  the  province,  and  grants  of  land 
were  made  in  that  direction  by  the  authorities.  New  York 
advocated  her  claim  to  the  disputed  district;  and  a  "vexatious 
controversy"  ensued,  which  lasted  until  the  independence  of 
Vermont  was  acknowledged  in  1790.  In  those  days  of 
'76,  which  tried  men's  souls,  New  Hampshire,  boldly  and 
succinctly,  made  a  public  declaration  of  independence,  and 
established  a  temporary  government,  to  continue  until  the 
termination  of  the  conflict.  On  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington,  twelve  hundred  men  marched  instantly  to  the 
relief  of  Boston;  the  temporary  constitution  was  hurriedly 
but  ably  formed,  and  the  royal  governor  obliged  to  resign 
his  functions  as  chief  magistrate.  And  let  it  be  here  repeated, 
that  a  month  previous  to  the  declaration  of  independence  by 
the  general  congress,  the  general  assembly  of  the  province 
appointed  a  committee  to  make  a  draft  of  a  declaration,  in 
favor  of  an  entire  separation  from  Great  Britain.  One  of 
the  most  brilliant  actions  of  the  war  was  fought  at  Ben- 
nington,  by  General  Stark,  an  officer  of  this  state,  with  a 
body  of  militia,  in  part  from  New  Hampshire.  At  the 
battles  of  Stillwater,  Saratoga,  and  Monmouth,  the  hardy 
farmers  and  backwoodsmen  of  that  state  won  imperishable 
laurels;  and  aided  greatly  in  sustaining  the  cause  of  the 
thirteen  united  colonies;  and  few  of  the  states  contributed 
so  many  men,  in  proportion  to  their  population,  to  the  sup 
port  of  the  war.  When  peace  was  finally  established,  the 


MASSACHUSETTS.  57 

people  of  this  province,  borne  down  with  overwhelming 
debts,  occasioned  by  their  generous  expenditures  in  the 
previous  years,  and  obliged  to  sustain  the  weight  of  extra 
ordinary  taxes,  became  gloomy  and  disaffected;  and  a  body 
of  armed  men  even  invaded  the  legislature  in  its  halls;  but 
the  rigorous  measures  of  Governor  Sullivan  immediately 
repressed  the  insurrection,  and  restored  the  peace  of  the 
state.  Josiah  Bartlett,  William  Whipple,  and  Matthew  Thorn 
ton  were  the  three  whose  signatures  attested  their  devotion 
to  America;  who,  representing  the  spirit  of  their  fellow  citi 
zens,  set  their  hands  to  the  irrevocable  deed.  Truly  did 
the  Switzerland  of  America, — not  less  in  the  grandeur  and 
diversity  of  her  scenery,  than  in  the  dauntless  energy  which 
made  the  name  of  Swiss  a  proverb  in  the  old  world, — uphold 
the  justness  of  her  reputation;  and  gave  to  time  the  theme 
which,  bursting  into  music,  echoed  throughout  the  universe 
her  valor  and  renown.  January  5th,  1776,  is  the  date  of 
the  formation  of  the  government;  but  not  till  June,  1783, 
was  the  "perfect  instrument"  formed,  which  was  established 
in  the  following  October. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

POPULATION. 

1776:  nearly  300,000  inhabitants.  1876:  nearly  1,600,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area,  in  square  miles,  7,800.  Present 
total  wealth,  $2,200,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $1,500. 

The  principal  colleges  are — Harvard,  at  Cambridge;  Wil 
liams,  at  Williamstown ;  Amherst,  at  Amherst;  Holy  Cross, 

at  Worcester;  and  Tufts,  at  Medford. 
p 


58  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

The  agricultural  products  are  wheat,  Indian  corn,  rye, 
oats,  potatoes,  etc. — with  apples  and  pears.  In  manufacturing 
industry,  Massachusetts  stands  at  the  head  of  all  the  states; 
while  the  condition  of  her  operatives,  and  their  moral  and 
intellectual  character,  has  no  parallel  in  other  manufacturing 
districts.  The  import  and  export  trade  is  flourishing  and 
extensive. 

In  1602,  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  directing  a  colonizing 
expedition  of  32  persons,  made  the  land  in  Massachusetts 
Bay;  passed  and  named  Cape  Cod,  and  Martha's  Vineyard 
(now  No  Man's  Land),  and  landed  at  Elizabeth  Island  (now 
Cuttyhunk).  This,  the  first  English  settlement  in  Massa 
chusetts,  was  soon  after  entirely  broken  up  and  abandoned. 
Martin  Pring,  or  Prynne,  subsequently  tarried  in  Edgartown ; 
and  in  1605-1606  sundry  French  expeditions  visited  the  coast. 
George  Waymouth,  also,  in  1605,  made  a  fruitless  voyage 
to  the  inhospitable  coast.  Later  the  two  great  colonizing 
companies  were  formed;  and  the  pious  and  steadfast  exiles 
of  Leyden,  resolving  to  seek  for  freedom  in  the  new  world, 
obtained  from  the  Virginia  company  a  patent  for  lands 
which  they  were  not  fated  to  occupy.  July  22d,  1620,  the 
Pilgrims  embarked  at  Delft  Haven,  in  the  Speedwell;  and, 
upon  arriving  at  Southampton,  found  the  Mayflower;  and 
the  two  vessels,  August  5th,  turned  their  prows  toward  the 
far-off  land  of  hope.  But  the  master  of  the  Speedwell, 
stricken  with  fear,  turned  back;  and  the  little  Mayflower 
went  forth  alone,  freighted  with  102  indomitable  souls.  A 
tedious  voyage  of  63  days  was  safely  accomplished,  when 
they  made  the  land  off  Cape  Cod,  and  November  nth,  were 
anchored  in  the  roadstead  of  the  present  Provincetown.  Grave 


MASSACHUSETTS.  59 

history,  and  peerless  poetry  have  made  commonplaces  of 
the  noble  endurance,  and  sublime  fortitude  of  those  dauntless 
and  pious  Puritans;  their  marvelous  annals  need  no  repe 
tition  here. 

Their  efforts  to  obtain  a  patent  from  the  crown  were 
unavailing,  and  the  Plymouth  colonists  were  therefore  obliged, 
to  carry  on  their  government,  without  the  royal  sanction. 
As  events  proved,  "God's  hand  was  in  it  evidently."  The 
expedition  of  John  Endicott  reached  Salem  in  1628,  and  as 
a  consequence,  a  royal  patent  was  finally  obtained  for  the 
Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  When  news  from  home 
reached  them,  intimating  the  probable  early  appointment  of 
a  "general  governor/'  their  reply  chorded  harmoniously  with 
those  principles, — which  from  the  days  of  the  gallant  Carver  to 
the  final  struggle,  spurred  them  on  to  wondrous  deeds:  "We 
ought  not  to  accept  him,  but  defend  our  lawful  possessions, 
if  we  were  able,  otherwise  to  avoid  or  protract."  This,  from 
a  handful  of  exiles  to  the  invincible  England  of  the  seven 
teenth  century!  In  1662,  a  commission  sent  to  England, 
obtained  a  confirmation  from  the  king  of  the  previously 
endangered  charter.  In  1664,  Massachusetts  baffled  the  per 
sistent  efforts  of  the  royal  commissioners  "sent  to  trifle  with 
her  sacred  rights,  and  liberties,"  and  set  at  naught  the 
"meddling  of  envious  and  officious  courtiers."  During  King 
Philip's  war,  1675-1676,  thirteen  towns  were  ravaged,  six 
hundred  colonists  were  slain,  and  over  six  hundred  houses 
burnt.  Subsequently  ensued  the  incessant  bickerings  with 
the  king,  which  ultimately  effected  the  loss  of  the  cherished 
charter,  and  the  unwelcome  governments  of  Dudley  and 
Andros.  In  1692  was  given  a  new  charter,  by  which  Ply- 


60  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

mouth  was  united  to  Massachusetts,  which  had  jurisdiction 
also  over  Maine  and  other  territory.  Then  occurred  the 
memorable  episode  in  the  history  of  the  colony — the  witchcraft 
delusion,  so  pregnant  in  its  near  and  remote  consequences, 
so  rife  with  horrid  incidents.  In  1703-1704  the  province 
suffered  greatly  from  the  French  and  Indians;  and  in  1722, 
and  the  latter  part  of  1725.  In  1745  Massachusetts  con 
tributed  largely  to  the  expedition  which  captured  Louisburg, 
and  co-operated  efficiently  in  the  plans  for  the  conquest 
of  Canada,  and  participating  vigorously  in  other  military 
operations  until  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  France 
and  England  in  1748.  In  the  subsequent  renewal  of  hos 
tilities  she  again  proved  a  valuable  ally  until  1760.  In 
the  just  resistance  to  oppressive  measures  of  the  English 
parliament,  Massachusetts  stood  first  and  foremost,  and  vol 
untarily  made  herself  the  anvil  for  embittered  hammers. 
The  Boston  massacre  in  1770,  the  destruction  of  the  tea  in 
1773,  and  the  Port  Bill  in  the  following  year,  are  a  few  of 
the  memorable  incidents  which  heralded  the  approach  of  the 
Revolution;  at  Lexington  and  Concord  was  made  the  issue, 
and  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims  fired  the  first  gun  in  the  faces 
of  an  obstinate  and  tyrannical  king  and  an  oligarchical 
despotism.  From  first  to  last,  Massachusetts  sustained  her 
enviable  reputation  for  pious  patriotism,  and  public  spirit, 
and  in  every  tongue,  in  prose  and  in  verse,  may  be  found 
the  chronicle  of  her  wise  counselors,  her  inflexible  soldiers 
and  self-denying  women.  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams, 
Robert  Treat  Paine,  Elbridge  Gerry — hallowed  names,  to  be 
spoken  in  reverence  and  love,  for  they  are  the  names  of 
those  men  that  signed  that  Declaration  which  startled  the 


RHODE   ISLAND.  61 

old  world  from  its  lethargy  and  added  a  nobility  to  man 
hood.  The  constitution  of  the  state  was  framed  in  Sep 
tember,  1779,  and  went  into  effect  in  1780. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  65,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  250,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  1,306.  Present 
total  wealth,  $300,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $1,400. 

Brown  University,  in  Providence,  is  the  principal  collegiate 
institution. 

Indian  corn,  rye  and  oats  are  the  principal  cereals;  the 
sheep  raising  interests  are  of  extended  value,  and  those  of 
the  manufacturing  and  coasting  trade  are  thriving  and 
important. 

Originally  Rhode  Island  was  the  abode  of  the  Narra- 
gansett  Indians,  a  large  and  powerful  tribe,  who  retained 
possession  of  it,  until  the  later  irruption  of  the  conquering 
Europeans.  In  1524,  as  is  currently  believed,  Verrazano 
entered  Narragansett  Bay,  and  anchored  in  the  fine  harbor  of 
Newport.  The  first  settlement  was  made  in  Providence, 
in  1636,  by  Roger  Williams,  a  refugee  from  New  England; 
later  he  was  followed  by  William  Coddington  and  others, 
and  in  1642  came  the  party  under  John  Greene  and  Samuel 
Gorton.  In  the  same  year  a  patent,  which,  however,  was 
not  accepted  until  1647,  was  obtained  from  England,  for  the 
united  government  of  Providence,  Newport  and  Portsmouth. 
In  1663,  the  new  charter  of  Charles  II.,  incorporating  the 
colony  of  "Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,"  was 


62  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

secured,  and  this  continued  in  force  for  179  years,  being 
superseded  in  1842  by  the  existing  constitution.  The  pro 
vince  suffered  extremely  from  the  Indian  wars  which  broke 
out  in  June,  1675,  and  also  in  the  subsequent  struggles 
with  the  Narragansetts.  In  1686-7,  Andros  abrogated  the 
charter,  but  in  1688  the  revolution  broke  forth  in  England, 
and  the  governor,  after  a  short  imprisonment,  was  sent  to 
England.  In  February,  1689-90,  the  general  assembly  reor 
ganized  the  government  under  the  charter.  Rhode  Island 
participated  prominently  in  the  struggle  between  Great  Bri 
tain  and  France  for  empire  in  America.  She  furnished 
large  numbers  of  troops  for  the  expeditions  against  Louis- 
burg,  Cape  Breton,  Crown  Point,  Oswego  and  Canada.  In 
1756  she  had  fifty  privateers  at  sea,  manned  by  upward  of 
fifteen  hundred  men.  These  private  men-of-war  cruised 
among  the  West  India  islands,  and  along  the  coast,  making 
many  important  captures.  During  the  Revolutionary  contest 
she  also  rendered  effective  service,  by  sea  as  well  as  on 
land,  taking  part  in  many  important  engagements  and  sus 
taining  effectively  the  cause  in  which  she  was  so  heartily 
interested.  The  first  naval  squadron  sent  against  the  enemy 
was  fitted  out  and  sailed  from  Providence,  under  command 
of  Commodore,  or  "Admiral"  Hopkins.  Paul  Jones,  sub 
sequently  so  celebrated,  acted  as  a  lieutenant  in  this  fleet; 
while  Commodores  Talbot  and  Whipple,  also  sailed  from 
Rhode  Island,  and,  belonging  to  that  State,  shed  glory  on 
her  through  their  heroic  deeds.  Major  General  Greene, 
chiefly  occupied  in  the  southern  campaigns,  likewise  was 
one  of  her  sons,  and  on  her  soil  began  his  military  career. 
In  like  manner  with  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island's  form  of 


CONNECTICUT.  63 

government  was  so  purely  republican,  that  in  its  charter, 
with  the  "People,"  for  the  "King,"  was  found  the  needed 
constitution,  in  May,  1776.  In  December,  1776,  Rhode  Island 
was  invaded  by  the  British  under  Clinton,  who  occupied 
Newport  during  several  years;  and  General  Sullivan,  aided 
by  Count  de  Grasse,  after  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
dislodge  the  enemy,  was  finally  obliged  to  abandon  his 
project  of  relieving  that  place.  In  1779  the  British  troops 
were  withdrawn,  and  the  following  year  Rochambeau  arrived 
with  6,000  French  auxiliaries.  Rhode  Island  was  the  last 
of  the  thirteen  colonies  that  adopted  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Union  on  the  29th 
of  May,  1799.  Stephen  Hopkins  and  William  Ellery,  were 
the  loyal  men  sent  forth  by  her  to  give  in  her  adhesion  to 
the  declaration  which  formed  a  new  empire,  ever  to  be 
united  in  fraternal  and  indissoluble  bonds. 

CONNECTICUT. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  190,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  600,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  4,750.  Present 
total  wealth,  nearly  $800,000,000.  Average  wealth,  about 
$1,500. 

The  three  colleges:  Wesleyan  University,  Yale  College, 
and  Trinity  College  take  high  rank  as  institutes  of  learning, 
and  have  contributed  greatly  toward  the  education  and 
advancement  of  our  Western  States,  where  their  graduates 
are  held  in  high  esteem  as  teachers  and  professors. 

The    most    valuable    sources    of   wealth    are    the    mines, 


64  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

quarries,    and    manufacturers    of    iron,    clocks,    carriages    and 
India-rubber  goods. 

On  March  ipth,  1631,  was  granted  the  patent  of  Con 
necticut,  "embracing  all  that  part  of  New  England  in 
America,  extending  in  breadth  120  miles,  as  the  coast  lieth, 
from  the  Narragansett  river  toward  Virginia,  and  in  longitude 
from  the  Western  Ocean  to  the  South  Sea."  But  her  dearest 
charter  was  that  coaxed  from  Charles  II.,  through  the  inesti 
mable  offices  of  Governor  Winthrop,  and  which  received  the 
royal  signature  April  soth,  1662.  This  charter,  so  compre 
hensively  and  so  admirably  democratic  in  its  scope  and 
designs,  lived  in  full  force  and  vigor,  even  until  the  year 
1818,  and  when  its  subjects,  June  I4th,  1776,  stood  forth 
promptly  and  without  fear,  was  found  with  "People,"  in  lieu 
of  "King,"  to  answer  every  end  and  need,  was  revered  as 
a  splendid  monument  to  the  liberal  principles  and  wise 
philanthropy  of  John  Winthrop. 

When  the  cry  from  Lexington,  tremulous  with  fear,  and 
woe,  and  bitter  wrath,  was  wafted  from  the  drenched  shores 
of  Nova  Scotia,  to  the  perfumed  savannahs  of  fertile  Georgia, 
the  spirit  of  Connecticut  —  her  industry  and  her  daring- 
shone  forth  in  the  guise  of  a  sturdy  farmer,  who,  in  leather 
apron,  and  busied  in  building  a  stone  wall  around  his  acres, 
forsook  the  trowel  for  his  flintlock,  and  cried  aloud,  "To 
arms!  To  arms!  Lexington's  made  work  for  us!" 

Governor  Trumbull — the  Brother  Jonathan  who  acted  so 
ably  in  conjunction  with  Washington  —  sent  forth  writs  to 
convene  the  legislature  of  the  colony  at  Hartford, — on  the 
Wednesday  following  the  battle.  But  Israel  Putnam,  of 
Pomfret,  and  the  people  —  swayed,  perhaps  unwittingly,  by 


CONNECTICUT.  65 

that  creative  and  resistless  principle  that  came  as  a  healthful 
but  appalling-  whirlwind  from  the  heart  of  Germany  and  the 
skirts  of  France --rose  in  their  menacing  sadness,  and 
strode  swiftly  to  the  memorable  field,  where  English  Briton 
against  American  Briton,  crossed  swords  to  uphold  the  cause 
of  freedom  or  oppression.  The  bellowings  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  the  surge  songs  of  the  Pacific  were  stilled;  the  winds 
of  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Rocky  Range  sank  into  low 
soughings,  as  the  new  thought  rose  up  in  the  New  World, 
and,  all  infant  as  it  was,  cried  Halt! — to  the  past  which, 
through  venality  and  false  kingcraft,  had  forfeited  respect 
and  love.  Great  Britain  would  have  executed  her  design 
of  collecting  a  revenue  from  unrepresented  colonies;  Con 
necticut,  consistently  inflexible  in  opposition,  called  together 
her  Committees  of  Correspondence — and  struck  hands  with 
her  persecuted  brethren  of  Massachusetts — then  hastened 
toward  the  northern  coast  her  valiant  militia.  During  the 
progress  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  Connecticut  was 
seldom  afflicted  by  the  actual  presence  of  the  enemy,  yet 
never  failed  in  contributing  promptly  and  generously  her 
share  in  men  and  moneys.  On  the  i4th  of  June,  1776,  the 
Assembly  of  Connecticut  instructed  its  provincial  delegates,  to 
give  their  assent  to  a  declaration  of  independence:  let  the 
names  of  those  men  be  uttered  from  generation  to  genera 
tion  through  all  time: — Roger  Sherman,  Samuel  Huntington, 
William  Williams  and  Oliver  Wolcott.  On  the  26th  of 
April,  1/77,  a  predatory  force,  consisting  of  2,000  men,  com 
manded  by  General  Tryon,  assailed  Danbury,  and  devasted 
the  town;  during  the  retreat,  however,  the  gathering  militia 
fell  upon  the  invaders,  and,  in  the  confused  melee  which 
R 


66  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

ensued,  inflicted  a  severe  and  disastrous  punishment.  July 
5th,  1779,  a  still  larger  body  of  troops,  also  commanded  by 
Tryon,  plundered  and  destroyed  East  Haven,  Norwalk,  New 
Haven  and  Fairfield.  After  this  latter  foray,  in  which  Tryon 
reaped  little  profit  and  much  unenviable  notoriety,  Connecti 
cut's  share  in  the  successful  issue  of  the  conflict  consisted 
in  the  furnishing  of  brave  troops,  and  her  frequent  donations 
of  money  and  provisions.  Prior  to  the  close  of  the  war,  a 
dispute  which  had  arisen  between  her  and  Pennsylvania, 
respecting  the  right  to  lands  lying  on  the  Susquehanna,  west 
of  New  York,  was  satisfactorily  adjusted  by  a  decision  in 
favor  of  the  latter  state,  made  by  a  board  of  commissioners 
appointed  by  congress. 

NEW  YORK. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  325,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  5,000,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  47,000.  Present 
total  wealth,  $6,800,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $1,500. 

The  state  contains  many  important  colleges:  Columbia, 
at  New  York;  Union,  at  Schenectady;  Hamilton,  at  Clin 
ton;  Hobart,  at  Geneva;  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York;  Madison  University,  at  Hamilton;  St.  Johns,  at  Ford- 
ham;  University  of  Rochester;  Troy  University;  Genesee 
College,  at  Lima;  Elmira  Female  College;  Sugham  Univer 
sity,  at  Le  Roy,  etc. 

As  an  agricultural  state,  New  York  ranks  high  in  the 
Union,  her  chief  products  being  oats,  Indian  corn,  wheat, 
buckwheat,  rye  and  barley;  also  broom  corn,  hops,  grapes, 


NEW   YORK.  67 

maple  sugar,  butter,  cheese  and  orchard  fruits.  The  manu 
facturing  interests  are  very  extensive,  and  in  many  sections 
surpass  those  of  agriculture,  or  even  commerce. 

Samuel  Champlain,  July  4th,  1609,  was  the  first  European 
who  ever  stepped  upon  the  soil  of  New  York;  on  September 
6th,   of  the   same   year,    Henry   Hudson   discovered    the  bay; 
in   1611,  the  States-General  of  Holland  granted  special  priv 
ileges   to  any  company  which   should  open  a  trade  with  the 
natives  of  this  region.     In   1621   the  Dutch  West  India  Com 
pany  was    incorporated,  and  settlements  \vere  made  at  Fort 
Orange    and    New  Amsterdam.      In    1626,  Manhattan    Island 
was  purchased  from  the  Indians  by  Peter  Minuits,  for  the  value 
of   $24.      In    1655    Peter   Stuyvesant   took    possession   of  the 
neighboring  Swedish  territory  and  annexed  it  to  New  Neth 
erlands,  while  the  border  contests  with  the  English  colonists 
continued   until   the   final   overthrow  of  the   Dutch    authority. 
Then    ensued    the    bitter  controversies  and  conflicts  between 
the    English    and    Dutch,   which    resulted    in    the    successful 
establishment   of    the    former    claimants.      Under   James    II. 
the    government    became   an    appendage    of   the    crown,    and 
even    under   William    and    Mary,    few    popular    rights    were 
conceded,   and    few   ancient   and    oppressive    privileges   abol 
ished.      The    royal    governors    had    frequent    collisions   with 
the  representatives  of  the  people,  and  the  controversies  that 
took     place    from    time    to    time     "gradually    prepared     the 
people  for  the  great  final  struggle   that  severed   the  colonies 
from  the  mother  country." 

During  the  war  between  the  French  and  English,  the 
Seneca  country  was  invaded  by  De  Nonville  in  1687;  in 
1689  Schenectady  was  destroyed;  and  in  1693,  a  Mohawk 


68  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

fort  was   taken  and    three  hundred   prisoners  were   captured. 
The  peace  of  Ryswick,  in    1697,  brought  a  temporary  cessa 
tion  of  hostilities.     During  the  continuance  of  Queen  Anne's 
war,    from    1702    to    1713,    hostilities    in    this    province   were 
confined  chiefly  to  frontier  skirmishes.     During  King  George's 
war,   which   began    in    1745,    the    disputed    territory   was    the 
scene  of  frequent  and  bloody  encounters  between  the  English 
posts    on    the    Hudson,    and    the    French    fortress   at   Crown 
Point.      In   the  ensuing   war  of  1754,  the   embittered   conflict 
involved  nearly  all  the  colonies,  and  throughout  its  progress 
New  York  sustained   her  reputation  for  valor  and   efficiency. 
In    1755   Sir  William  Johnston   marched  successfully  against 
Crown     Point;     in     1756     Oswego     was     destroyed     by    the 
French;  in  1757  they  captured  Fort  William  Henry;  in  1758 
Abercrombie    was    defeated    at    Ticonderoga,    while    Colonel 
Bradstreet     captured     Fort     Frontenac.       In     1759     Niagara, 
Ticonderoga  and   Crown    Point  were  captured   by  the    Eng 
lish    and    Americans,    and    no    French    force    was    left   within 
the    limits   of    the    colony.      To    the    subsequent    ministerial 
aggressions,  recommencing  after   the   conquest  of  Canada  in 
1760,  New  York  offered  a  bold  front,  and  entered  zealously 
into    the    measures  proposed   for  common   defence.     In   May, 
1775,  Ticonderoga   and    Crown    Point  were    taken    by   Ethan 
Allen,  and  in  October,  1775,  Governor  Tryon  was  obliged  to 
leave  the  province,  and   shelter  himself  on  board  of  a  Brit 
ish    man-of-war.      In    1776,  Montgomery  and    Schuyler  were 
defeated  in  their  attempt  to  reduce  Canada;  in  August,  1776, 
the    battle  of  Long    Island  was  fought,  and    New   York  fell 
into    the   hands  of   the    British.      In    1777    the    province   was 
invaded  from  Canada   by   Burgoyne,  whose  army  was  after- 


NEW  JERSEY.  69 

ward  compelled  to  surrender  at  Saratoga.  April  2Oth,  1777, 
a  constitution  was  established.  In  the  winter  of  1777- 
1778,  West  Point  was  fortified;  in  1779  General  Sullivan 
destroyed  the  hostile  Indian  villages  in  the  western  section, 
while,  in  return,  during  the  two  following  years,  the  Indians 
devasted  the  settlements  of  Mohawk  and  Schoharie.  Novem 
ber  25th,  1783,  New  York  was  evacuated  by  the  British, 
and  Europe  with  America  knew  that  the  trial  was  over,  and 
American  independence  a  living  and  immortal  fact.  The 
first  constitution  of  the  state  was  adopted  in  March,  1777, 
and  was  revised  in  1801,  1821  and  1846.  The  conflicting 
boundary  claims  of  this  state  and  New  Hampshire  led  to 
incessant  collisions  and  "almost  to  civil  war,"  but  in  1790, 
all  differences  were  adjusted  by  the  erection  of  the  disputed 
territory  into  the  state  of  Vermont,  and  the  payment  to 
New  York  of  $30,000.  William  Floyd,  Philip  Livingston, 
Francis  Lewis  and  Lewis  Morris,  are  the  names  of  those 
admirable  statesmen  who  aided  in  perfecting  the  noblest 
declaration  ever  penned, — to  whom  the  sons  of  New  York 
should  raise  enduring  monuments,  and  send  hearty  bene 
dictions  across  that  mighty  stream  of  progress,  which  burst 
its  dams  in  1776. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  180,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  1,000,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  8,320.  Present 
total  wealth,  $1,000,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $1,050. 

The   chief  collegiate   institutions  are   the  College  of  New 

s 


70  THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL   STATES. 

Jersey,  at  Princeton;  Burlington  College,  at  Burlington,  and 
Rutgers  College,  at  New  Brunswick. 

The  productions  are  the  various  grains,  potatoes,  sweet 
potatoes,  orchard  products,  cider,  etc.;  also  in  mining,  manu 
factures  and  the  mechanic  arts,  a  large  capital  is  invested, 
and  many  hands  are  constantly  employed.  The  internal 
traffic  is  very  important,  and  the  state  has  a  vast  and  increas 
ing  transit  business. 

The  earliest  colony  was  probably  planted  at  Bergen, 
between  1617  and  1620,  by  the  Dutch  of  New  Amsterdam, 
who  claimed  the  entire  country  as  a  portion  of  the  New 
Netherlands.  In  1623,  Fort  Nassau  was  constructed,  and 
in  1630  Godyn  and  Bloemart  purchased  of  the  Indians  land 
at  Cape  May.  In  1634,  Sir  Edmund  Ployden  obtained  a 
royal  grant  of  the  country  on  the  Delaware,  and  in  1638  a 
party  of  Swedes  and  Finns  planted  several  settlements.  After 
the  destruction  of  the  English  colonies,  the  Dutch,  under 
Peter  Stuyvesant,  in  turn  dispossessed  the  Swedes,  sending 
many  of  them  back  to  Europe.  In  1664,  Charles  II.  granted 
all  the  territory  between  the  Delaware  and  Connecticut  rivers 
to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  and  sent  out  an  expedition 
to  enforce  the  claim.  Later  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George 
Carteret  came  into  possession  of  the  claim,  and  the  province 
received  its  name,  New  Jersey,  in  honor  of  the  latter  named 
personage.  In  1665,  Philip  Carteret  was  appointed  governor, 
but,  in  1670,  was  temporarily  superseded  by  James  Carteret, 
his  reputed  brother.  In  1673,  Berkeley  sold  his  proprietary 
interest  to  the  Quakers,  John  Fenwick  and  Edward  Byllinge. 
In  this  year  the  Dutch  re-captured  New  York,  and  as  a 
consequence,  regained  possession  of  New  Jersey.  By  the 


NEW  JERSEY.  71 

treaty  of  1674,  it  reverted  to  Great  Britain,  and  subsequently 
ensued  the  troublous  bickerings  between  Philip  Carteret  and 
Sir  Edmund  Andros.  William  Penn,  Garven  Lawrie  and 
Nicholas  Lucas,  Quakers,  secured  an  interest  in  the  province, 
and  in  1675,  Fen  wick  established  a  Quaker  settlement  at 
Salem.  In  February,  1682,  the  whole  territory  was  purchased 
by  William  Penn,  associated  with  eleven  other  Quakers. 
Robert  Barclay  was  the  first  governor  under  the  new  pro 
prietors,  and  great  prosperity  was  temporarily  enjoyed  by 
the  oppressed  Quakers,  who  found  in  New  Jersey  a  safe  and 
pleasant  retreat.  In  1702  the  proprietors  surrendered  their 
right  of  government  to  the  crown,  and  Lord  Cornbury  was 
appointed  governor  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  but  each 
continued  to  have  a  separate  assembly.  In  1708,  the  latter 
province  petitioned  for  a  distinct  administration,  and  Lewis 
Morris  was  appointed  governor.  Thereafter,  until  the  open 
ing  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  New  Jersey  was  the  scene 
of  few  important  events,  and  was  little  exposed  to  the  inroads 
of  the  savages.  The  last  royal  governor  was  William  Tem 
ple  Franklin,  the  natural  son  of  the  illustrious  Benjamin 
Franklin.  The  attempt  of  the  home  government  to  estab 
lish  an  arbitrary  authority  over  her  colonies,  was  pertinaciously 
resisted  by  New  Jersey,  and  deputies  were  sent  to  the  con 
gress  which  convened  at  Philadelphia, — on  the  occasion  of 
the  stamp  act,  and  to  all  subsequent  assemblies.  During 
the  conflict  which  ensued,  her  soil  was  the  seat  of  hostilities 
for  a  great  length  of  time,  and  her  losses  in  men  and  prop 
erty  were  "greater  in  proportion"  than  those  of  any  other 
state.  A  state  constitution  was  adopted  July  2d,  1776,  and 
the  tongues,  and  arms,  and  resources  of  the  Jersey  patriots 


72  THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL   STATES. 

were  ever  ready  to  ably  second  the  holy  cause.  In  the  annals 
depicting  the  battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton,  Millstone,  Red 
Bank  and  Monmouth,  may  be  found  the  record  of  her  valor 
and  unquailing  perseverance— may  be  read  the  thrilling  story 
of  her  uprising,  of  her  great  sufferings  blended  with  splendid 
victories,  her  sacrifices  entwined  with  glorious  rapture.  De 
cember  1 8th,  1787,  the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted  by 
a  unanimous  vote,  and  in  1790  the  state  capital  was  estab 
lished  at  Trenton.  New  Jersey  sent  five  noble  sons  to  affix 
their  signatures  to  the  first  instrument  which  secured  to 
mankind  true  liberty: — their  names  are:  Richard  Stockton, 
John  Witherspoon,  Francis  Hopkinson,  John  Hart  and 
Abraham  Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  400,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  3,800,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  46,000.  Present 
total  wealth,  $4,000,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $1,150. 

There  are  nearly  thirty  important  collegiate  institutions, 
while  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital,  and  the  medical  department  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Jefferson  Medical  College,  are  "the  most  celebrated  and  suc 
cessful  of  their  class  in  the  country." 

The  products  are  wheat,  rye,  buckwheat,  barley,  Indian 
corn,  cheese,  wool,  tobacco,  butter,  etc.;  also  pig  iron, 
wrought  and  manufactured  goods.  Commerce,  external  and 
internal,  is  in  a  thriving  and  prosperous  condition. 

The  shores  of  the  river  received  their  first  civilized  colony 


PENNSYLVANIA.  73 

from  Sweden,  and  in  1627  a  thrifty  body  of  Swedes  and 
Finns  settled  on  both  shores  of  the  Delaware,  making  their 
way  nearly  to  the  site  of  Philadelphia.  Making  little  pro 
gress,  however,  in  the  settlement  of  the  country,  in  1655 
they  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  then  paramount  Dutch 
rule  at  New  Amsterdam.  In  1664,  they  passed  quietly  under 
the  English  jurisdiction,  at  this  period  generally  established 
and  nourishing.  In  1681,  the  territory  west  of  the  Delaware 
was  granted  to  William  Penn,  who  colonized  it,  and  founded 
Philadelphia  in  1682.  Under  the  charter  then  granted  by 
Charles  II.,  was  included  the  present  area  of  the  State  of 
Delaware,  known  as  "the  lower  counties,"  which  continued 
under  the  same  proprietary  until  1699,  when  a  separate 
legislature,  but  not  a  distinct  governor,  was  granted  them. 
In  this  manner  were  the  two  colonies  connected  until  the 
Revolution  of  1776.  The  grant  to  Penn  was  for  territory 
covered  in  reality  by  the  ill-defined  grants  made  to  the  New 
England  colonies,  Virginia  and  Maryland;  and,  though  the 
lines  on  the  east,  north  and  west  were  easily  adjusted,  the 
boundary  between  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  was  long  a 
subject  of  contest  by  the  heirs  of  the  original  proprietors,  and 
was  finally  settled  by  the  survey  of  Mason  and  Dixon,  begun 
in  1763  and  completed  in  1767.  Until  the  dawn  of  the 
revolutionary  conflict  the  province  was  unusually  free  from 
troubles  with  the  natives,  and  the  humane  and  peaceful  policy 
advocated  by  Penn  and  his  successors,  secured  to  the  colo 
nists  many  years  of  prosperous  tranquillity.  Eventually, 
however,  Braddock's  ill-fated  expedition,  and  the  terrible 
massacre  of  Wyoming,  disturbed  the  friendly  relations  of  the 
colonists  and  the  Indians,  and  subsequently  the  territory 
T 


74  THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL    STATES. 

suffered  greatly  from  a  relentless  and  destructive  savage  war 
fare.  Owing  to  the  "high  character  and  steady  energy"  of 
the  Friends,  Pennsylvania  became  rapidly  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  of  the  colonial  establishments,  and  long  before 
the  Revolution,  enjoyed  an  honorable  and  enviable  position 
throughout  the  changes  incident  to  the  founding  of  a  new 
government.  September  28th,  1776,  the  Pennsylvania  con 
vention  adopted  its  constitution;  but  the  opposition  which 
it  received  alike  from  the  Quakers,  whom  it  indirectly  dis 
franchised,  and  from  a  large  body  of  patriots,  delayed  its 
thorough  organization  for  more  than  five  months.  Its 
central  position  drew  to  its  principal  town  the  sessions  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  it  was  the  seat  of  the  general 
government  then  formed  until  1800.  Here  independence 
was  formally  proclaimed,  and  throughout  the  subsequent 
trying  scenes,  the  Pennsylvanians  pursued  a  calm  and 
steady,  though  not  over-zealous  or  precipitate,  line  of 
conduct.  Brandywine,  Germantown,  Valley  Forge,  and  a 
dozen  other  memorable  spots,  recall  perennially  the  heroic 
efforts  of  ill-clad  and  shoeless  men,  unrivaled, — unequaled— 
for  their  daring  and  persistency  amid  dire  want  and  utter  cold 
—the  stoical  nobleness  of  a  chief  whose  only  thought  was 
his  country's  welfare,  his  only  dream  its  independence  and 
prosperity.  On  the  declaration  of  independence,  the  pro 
prietary  government  was,  abrogated,  and  the  people,  through 
their  representatives,  formed  a  new  constitution,  which  was 
subsequently  succeeded  by  that  of  1790.  Robert  Morris, 
Benjamin  Rush,  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Morton,  George 
Clymer,  James  Smith,  George  Taylor,  James  Wilson  and 
George  Ross  are  the  names  of  those  whose  signatures, 


DELAWARE.  75 

placed  under  the  declaration  of  independence,  testify  to 
their  courageous  support  of  a  sorely  needed  and  beneficent 
measure. 

DELAWARE. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  50,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  126,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  2,120.  Present 
total  wealth,  $98,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $800. 

The  principal  collegiate  institutions  are  Delaware  College 
at  Newark,  and  St.  Mary's  College  at  Wilmington. 

The  chief  natural  productions  are  wheat,  rye,  oats,  peaches, 
fruits  and  Indian  corn;  while  the  general  manufacturing 
interests  are  of  the  highest  importance. 

This  state  owes  its  name  to  Lord  Delaware,  governor  of 
Virginia,  who  entered  the  bay  in  1610;  but,  prior  to  this,  in 
1609,  Hudson  had  sailed  upon  its  majestic  waters.  In  1630, 
De  Vries,  with  thirty  colonists  from  Holland,  settled  near 
Lewes,  and  in  1637,  the  Swedish  West  India  Company  sent 
a  colony  of  Swedes  and  Finns,  which,  arriving  at  cape 
Henlopen  in  1638,  surveyed  the  country  and  named  it  Nya 
Sveriga,  or  New  Sweden.  In  1655,  the  rule  of  the  Swedes 
was  annihilated  by  the  Dutch,  who  sent  to  Europe  all  the 
colonists  who  refused  allegiance  to  Holland.  Thereafter, 
until  1664,  when  the  English  took  possession  of  New  Neth 
erlands,  Delaware  settlements  were  governed  by  the  Dutch 
authorities.  Subsequently  ensued  the  contest  between  Wil 
liam  Penn  and  Lord  Baltimore,  respecting  the  boundary  line 
of  their  respective  possessions,  which  was  ultimately  adjusted 


76  THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL   STATES. 

by  an  amicable  compromise  between  the  claimants.  For 
twenty  years  the  "territories,  or  three  lower  counties  on  the 
Delaware,"  were  governed  as  a  part  of  Pennsylvania,  each 
county  sending  six  delegates  to  the  general  assembly.  In 
1703,  those  territories  obtained  liberty  to  secede,  and  ever 
afterwards  maintained  their  right  to  a  separate  and  distinct 
assembly.  But  the  proprietary,  until  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolutionary  struggle,  retained  all  his  rights,  and  the  same 
governor  presided  over  both  Delaware  and  Pennsylvania. 
Protected  by  the  sister  colonies  environing  her,  Delaware 
enjoyed  an  almost  entire  exemption  from  wars,  except  those 
in  which  "  as  a  part  of  the  British  Empire  she  was  obliged 
to  assist."  In  the  war  which  terminated  in  the  surrender  of 
Canada,  in  1763,  Delaware  contributed  her  full  proportion 
of  men  and  means  to  co-operate  with  the  Mother-country, 
and,  as  a  reimbursement  for  her  "  extraordinary  expenses," 
the  Parliament  granted  her  but  4000  pounds  sterling,  a  sum 
admittedly  far  inferior  to  what  would  have  been  a  just  remu 
neration.  At  the  meeting  of  the  congress  which  convened 
in  Philadelphia  in  1765,  on  occasion  of  the  Stamp  Act,  the 
territory,  notwithstanding  its  nominal  dependence,  was  rep 
resented  as  a  distinct  province,  with  Thomas  McKean  and 
Cassar  Rodney  for  delegates.  Finally,  in  April,  1775,  Richard 
Penn,  then  proprietor  of  Pennsylvania,  resigned  his  juris 
diction  over  the  "lower  counties,"  and  in  September,  1776, 
independence  having  been  declared,  a  convention  of  repre 
sentatives,  chosen  for  the  purpose,  formed  a  constitution  for 
the  free  and  independent  state  of  Delaware.  Throughout 
the  conflict,  she  labored  profitably  and  incessantly  for  the 
good  of  the  common  welfare,  and  her  losses  and  sacrifices, 


DELAWARE.  77 

in  the  cause  of  liberty,  won  for  her  resplendent  glory  as  the 
mother  of  wise  counselors,  upright  patriots,  and  unquailing 
soldiers.  When  the  true  scope  of  the  Boston  Port  act 
became  universally  known;  when  South  Carolina  sent  her 
rice  and  words  of  warm  sympathy  to  the  "Bostoneers,"  and 
North  Carolina  two  thousand  pounds  currency;  when  the 
people  of  Wilmington  sent  back  the  taunt  of  irresolute  Lord 
North,  and  added,  "Ay,  my  lord,  and  you  will  find  this 
American  union  a  rope  of  sand  that  may  yet  hang  men  for 
their  evil  deeds ;"  when  Connecticut  sent  her  flocks  of  lamb 
and  sheep  to  the  starving  freemen  of  the  Massachusetts 
coast;  when  Quebec  shipped  to  them  a  thousand  and  more 
bushels  of  wheat;  when  every  province  sent  in  its  cheerful 
contributions,  Delaware  stood  second  to  none  in  its  swift 
charities,  but  stinted  and  stripped  herself  to  feed  and  clothe 
those  steadfast,  hungering  and  desolate  pioneers  in  the  path 
of  freedom  who  offered  themselves  as  the  bulwark  of  Amer 
ican  rights  and  liberties.  And  when  the  perilous  moment 
came  wherein  good  and  wise  men,  with  wives  and  children 
and  hard-won  wealth,  statesmen  weighed  down  with  ineffable 
responsibilities,  were  to  stand  before  the  world  as  acknowl 
edged  leaders  of  a  revolution,  and  hazard,  for  their  country's 
sake,  a  felon's  fate— Caesar  Rodney,  George  Read,  and  Thomas 
McKean,  signed  boldly  the  immortal  declaration  which  made 
America  a  power  in  the  land,  and  upon  every  sea.  Sep 
tember  20th,  1776,  Delaware  proclaimed  its  constitution, 
built  upon  the  declaration  of  rights. 

Nor  must  the  memorable  contest  at  Brandywine  Creek  be 
passed  by  in  silence— the  banks  where  Howe  and    England 
gained  over  Washington  and  America,  one  of  those  victories, 
u 


78  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

of    which    Vergennes    remarked,    "Two    such    victories,    and 
England  will   not  have  a  soldier  left  in   America." 


MARYLAND. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  225,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  800,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  11,124.  Present 
total  wealth,  about  $700,000,000.  Average  wealth,  about  $900. 

Among  the  many  valuable  educational  institutions  of  this 
state,  may  be  mentioned  Washington  College  at  Charles- 
town,  St.  John's  College  at  Baltimore,  St.  Mary's  College 
at  Baltimore,  St.  Charles's  College  at  Ellicott's  Mills,  and 
St.  John's  College  at  Frederick  City. 

The  staple  cultivated  crops  are  tobacco,  wheat  and  Indian 
corn;  in  foreign  commerce,  .Maryland  occupies  the  sixth 
place  in  the  Union,  while  her  domestic  trade,  internal  and 
coastwise,  is  thriving  and  extensive. 

The  first  settlement  was  made  under  the  guidance  of 
Captain  William  Clayborne,  who,  landing  from  Virginia  with 
a  party  of  pioneers,  stepped  ashore  on  Kent  Island,  Ches 
apeake  Bay,  in  1631.  But  the  charter  under  which  the 
colony  was  permanently  established,  granted  by  Charles  the 
First  to  the  second  Lord  Baltimore,  was  dated  June  2Oth, 
1632,  and,  in  honor  of  Henrietta  Maria,  the  province  was 
named  Terra  Marice.  In  the  harrassing  and  protracted 
conflict  resulting  in  the  annihilation  of  the  French  dominion 
in  America,  Maryland  bore  an  active  part;  and  here,  in 
1754,  was  organized  Braddock's  expedition  against  Fort 
Duquesne.  During  that  part  of  the  last  century  which 


MARYLAND.  79 

preceded  the  birth  of  Revolutionary  hostilities,  Maryland 
"enjoyed  so  unvaried  a  series  of  quiet  prosperity,"  that  her 
annals  furnish  few  materials  for  historical  notice.  In  1760, 
the  contest,  of  words  merely,  with  William  Penn,  relative 
to  the  boundary  line  of  the  two  provinces,  was  amicably 
and  finally  settled.  Both  the  stamp  act  and  the  tea  duty 
act  were  ardently  opposed  by  the  people  of  this  state;  and, 
in  a  propitious  moment,  the  proprietary  government  was 
superseded  by  committees  of  public  safety,  and,  in  harmony 
with  a  natural  and  prevailing  sentiment,  by  conventions  of 
the  whole  people.  The  following  are  the  names  of  those 
Maryland  patriots  immortalized  as  signers  of  the  declaration 
of  independence: — Samuel  Chase,  William  Paca,  Thomas 
Stone,  and  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton.  August  I4th, 
1776,  was  framed  the  constitution  of  Maryland,  and  on  the 
following  November  Qth,  it  was  established. 

A  convention  assembled  in  August,  1776,  and  in  Sep 
tember  presented  a  bill  of  rights  and  a  constitution,  which 
were  adopted  in  the  following  November.  February  5th,  1777, 
the  first  elected  legislature  assembled  at  Annapolis,  and 
shortly  after,  Thomas  Johnson  was  chosen  the  first  Repub 
lican  governor.  From  the  opening  of  the  war  until  its  close, 
the  Maryland  troops  were  noted  for  their  efficiency  and 
daring,  and  the  famous  "  Maryland  line"  was  cited  as  an 
example  to  fire  the  backward  and  the  timid.  In  the  battles 
of  Long  Island,  Harlem  Heights,  Princeton,  White  Plains, 
Trenton,  <*tc.,  they  were  active  and  invaluable  participants; 
while  in  almost  every  important  battle,  from  the  engagement 
at  Brooklyn  Heights  to  the  struggle  at  York  town,  they  bore 
an  honorable  part.  Especially  in  the  southern  campaigns 


8o  THIRTEEN    ORIGINAL    STATES. 

under  General  Greene  were  the*  "bravery  and  good  conduct 
of  the  Maryland  line"  conspicuous,  and  to  them  was  often 
entrusted  the  honor  of  initiating  a  sortie,  or  heading  a 
forlorn  hope  in  a  desperate  encounter  with  overwhelming 
forces  of  veteran  European  troops.  It  was  in  May,  1774, 
while  Boston  was  languishing  under  the  strong  hand  of 
ministerial  oppression,  and  while  many  held  back  in  doubt 
and  alarm,  that  Baltimore  rose  erect,  saying  with  fervid 
calmness,  "Petitions?  I  cannot  see  the  least  grounds  for 
expecting  relief  for  a  petition  and  remonstrance.  During 
the  past  ten  years,  king  and  ministry  have  trodden 
under  foot  my  prayers,  laughing  me  and  mine  to  scorn. 
Something  more  sensible  than  supplications  will  best  serve 
my  purpose,"— and  instantly  she  resolved  to  cease  all  trading 
relations  with  Great  Britain  and  the  West  Indies,  selected 
deputies  to  a  colonial  convention,  recommended  the  forma 
tion  of  a  Continental  Congress,  and  wrote  to  her  Boston 
brethren,  "  The  Supreme  Disposer  of  all  events  will  termin 
ate  this  severe  trial  of  your  patience  in  a  happy  confirmation 
of  American  freedom."  Bold  words!  but  not  bolder  than 
was  the  indomitable  spirit  which  prompted  them,  nor  the 
heart  which  knew  no  rest  until  entire  freedom  was  won, 
after  many  trials. 

VIRGINIA. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  600,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  1,500,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  38,348.  Present 
total  wealth,  $450,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $350. 


VIRGINIA.  8 1 

In  conjunction  with  the  now  separate  state  of  West 
Virginia  these  items  are  thus  increased:  Population,  500,000. 
Area,  23,000.  Total  wealth,  $200,000,000;  and  average 
wealth,  $450. 

Among  the  chief  collegiate  institutions  are  William  and 
Mary  College,  Hampden  Sydney  College,  Washington 
College,  and  University  of  Virginia. 

The    principal    agricultural    productions    are    the    various 
cereals,   wheat,   Indian    corn,  etc.;    tobacco,    cotton,  wool    and 
potatoes;      also,    butter     and    cheese.       The     manufacturing 
interests    are    extensive,    and     the    commerce,    both    foreign 
and    domestic,    is   of   considerable   importance.     Virginia   \vas 
the    first   of   the    American    colonies  settled    by   the    English, 
and  Jamestown  was  founded  May   I3th,   1607,  by   105  colon 
ists    sent   out   by  the    London   Company,  whose    first  incom 
petent    leader,    Wingfield,    was    succeeded     by    the    famous 
Capt  John    Smith.     The    London  Company  was  reorganized 
in    1609,  and    received   a   grant   of  territory    "extending   200 
miles    north,    and    the    same    distance    south    of    Old    Point 
Comfort,   and    westward    to    the    Pacific."     Of    nine   vessels 
subsequently    despatched     thither,    seven    arrived    safely     in 
the  James    River;    the    old   government   was   abrogated,  and 
Smith    retained    his    position    as   governor    under    the    new 
regime.        Thereafter,    until     1619,    the    tide    of    emigration 
from    the    old    country   set    in    strongly   toward    the    settle 
ment    on    the   James    River,   and   various   other    neighboring 
points    were   rapidly   colonized    by    the    newcomers.     In  that 
year,  also,  were  sent  over  "ninety  respectable  young  women" 
who  were   disposed   of  to  the  planters  as   wives,  at  the  cost 
of    their    passage,    payable    in    tobacco.       In    1619,    a    Dutch 


v 


82  .THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL   STATES. 

trading  vessel  brought  to  Jamestown  twenty  negroes,  who 
were  sold  as  slaves  for  life.  In  1622  occurred  a  terrible 
war  between  the  colonists  and  the  tribes  led  by  Opechan- 
canough.  In  1624,  the  Virginia  Company  was  dissolved, 
and  in  1632,  under  the  direct  control  of  the  crown,  the  laws 
of  the  colony  were  revised  and  consolidated.  In  1641,  Sir 
William  Berkeley  became  governor;  in  1652  Richard  Bennett 
became  his  successor;  but  on  the  restoration  of  Charles  II., 
the  former  governor  regained  his  place.  In  1662  the  code 
of  the  colony  was  again  revised,  and  the  Church  of  Eng 
land  re-established.  In  1676  occurred  "Bacon's  rebellion," 
in  which  Berkeley  met  with  loss  and,  eventually,  disgrace. 
In  1705  took  place  the  fifth  colonial  revision  of  the  code, 
by  which  the  slave  was  declared  real  estate.  Hostilities 
broke  out  with  the  French  in  1754,  and  in  this  war  George 
Washington  first  entered  the  service  of  America,  command 
ing  the  colonial  troops  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Necessity,  and 
assuming  the  command  of  the  Virginia  forces  after  Brad- 
dock's  defeat  in  1755.  In  1765  the  House  of  Burgesses 
adopted  the  resolutions  denying  the  right  of  any  foreign 
body  to  levy  taxes  upon  the  colony.  In  1769,  fresh  resolu 
tions  of  a  similar  nature  were  passed,  and,  in  consequence, 
Lord  Botetourt  immediately  dissolved  the  assembly.  In 
March,  1773,  the  Virginia  Committee  of  Correspondence 
was  organized,  and  April  2ist,  1775,  Governor  Dunmore 
was  openly  menaced  for  his  "arbitrary  deportment."  On 
the  following  November  23d,  Dunmore  took  forcible  pos 
session  of  Norfolk,  was  driven  thence  December  3d,  and 
in  January,  1776,  bombarded  the  town.  In  June,  1776, 
Virginia  adopted  her  State  Constitution,  and  it  was  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  83 

Virginia  delegates  who,  in  the  Continental  Congress,  pro 
posed  the  declaration  of  independence,  and  sent  George 
Wythe,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Benjamin 
Harrison,  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  Francis  Lrghtfoot  Lee  and 
Carter  Braxton  to  declare  her  sentiments.  In  1779  occurred 
the  destruction,  by  Matthews,  of  Norfolk,  who  also  took 
Portsmouth  and  Gosport,  and  destroyed  130  merchant 
vessels  on  the  James  and  Elizabeth  rivers.  In  January, 
1781,  Benedict  Arnold  captured  and  ravaged  Richmond, 
but  was  afterward  successfully  pursued  by  the  militia  under 
Steuben,  and  several  French  frigates  in  the  Chesapeake. 
In  the  spring  of  the  same  year,  Cornwallis  and  Phillips 
devastated  eastern  Virginia,  but  the  following  October  19111, 
the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  virtually  closed 
the  war. 

NORTH    CAROLINA. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  350,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  1,250,000 
inhabitants.  Area  in  square  miles,  50,704.  Present  total 
wealth,  $275,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $250. 

The  principal  collegiate  institutions  are,  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  Davidson  College,  Wake  Forest  College 
and  Normal  College. 

Iron  and  coal  are  among  the  mineral  productions ;  the 
various  fruits  are  found  in  profusion,  while  turpentine,  tar, 
rosin,  rice,  tobacco  and  cotton,  with  the  various  grains  and 
mining  and  manufacturing  establishments,  form  the  basis  of 
a  large  and  constantly  increasing  commerce. 


84  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

The    first   systematic  essay  at   settlement    in    North    Car 
olina    was    made    by   a    party    of   one    hundred   and    eight, 
under  Ralph  Lane,  despatched  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  which 
landed  in   1585  on  Roanoke,  an  island  between  Pamlico  and 
Albemarle    Sounds.      These    adventurers,    however,    drawing 
upon  themselves  the  hostility  of  the  native  tribes,  soon  after 
returned    to    England    with    the    fleet   of   Sir    Francis    Drake. 
Prior  to    this,    in    1584,    Raleigh's    expedition    had    made    the 
land  at  Cape    Fear,  and   run   into  Ocracoke    Inlet,  when   the 
voyagers   landed  on  the  isle    of  Wococon.     Thereafter,  until 
the    middle    of    the     seventeenth     century,    various    abortive 
settlements    made    by    Raleigh    and    others    met   with   great 
sufferings,  and    were    ultimately  wholly   destroyed.     In    1630, 
a  vast    tract  of    land    south    of   the    Chesapeake,   known    as 
Carolina,  was    granted   to  Sir    Robert    Heath,  but    not   being 
colonized,    the    grant   was    afterward    declared    forfeited.       In 
1663,  Charles  II.  granted  the  same  "territory  of  Carolina"  to 
eight    eminent    English     noblemen,    who    were    vested    with 
jurisdiction  over  the  colonists,  and  John  Locke  was  engaged 
to  elaborate  a  scheme  of  government  for  the  whole  province. 
William     Drummond,    the    first    governor,    was    executed    in 
Virginia    as  a  rebel;    under    Samuel    Stevens,   his    successor, 
were   enacted   the  first   laws  for   the  colony,   by  an   assembly 
partaking  both  of  popular  and  proprietary  qualities.     In   1695, 
the  Quaker,   John  Archdale,  was  appointed  governor.      Con 
siderable     settlements     were     made     during     his     beneficent 
administration,   and    the    export    of    tar    and    rice   was    com 
menced.      In    1705,   Thomas    Gary  was    appointed    governor, 
and,   upon    being    removed   to  give    place   to   Edward   Hyde, 
incited    a    rebellion  which    was    not    suppressed    until     1711. 


NORTH  CAROLINA.  85 

Meanwhile   and    subsequently,   until    1713,   tne    province  was 
continually    harassed    by    the    Tuscaroras,   who    finally    emi 
grated    to    the    north.      At    this    period,    also,    various    other 
hostile    tribes    were    intimidated    and    reduced    to   subjection. 
In  July,    1729,   while   under  Governor  Everard,   the   province 
became  a  royal  government,  with   Lord  Carteret  as  the  pro 
prietor  of  one-eighth  of  the   domain.     Later,  a  party  of   Irish 
Presbyterians   settled  in    the  north-western  section,  a    colony 
of  Moravians    took    possession    of  the    ground    between  the 
Dan    and    the    Yadkin  rivers,  and    a  party   of    Highlanders 
settled     near     Fayetteville.       During     the     subsequent    evil 
administration   of  Tryon,  the  "regulator"  troubles    convulsed 
the    State,   and    the    people    murmured    against    his  tyranny 
and     oppression.       Under    the    following    administration    of 
Josiah  Martin,  disputes  arose  between   the  governor  and  the 
assembly,  and   also    loud    complaints  relative    to  the   unjusti 
fiable     policy    of    the     home     government.      Finally,    North 
Carolina  sent    representatives    to    the  first   Continental   Con 
gress,    September',    1774,  and  an    association  was    formed    in 
Mecklenburg   which,   May,   1775,   decided   to  renounce  allegi 
ance  to  the  crown.     August  2oth,  1775,  a  popular  convention 
authorized   the  raising   of  three,  afterward    five  regiments    of 
troops,  to  be   taken  into  colonial  pay  by  Congress.      Subse 
quently,    the     loyalist     Highlanders    under    McDonald    and 
McLeod    were    routed    by   the    patriots    under     Moore    and 
Caswell;   and,  in  April,   1776,  the  North  Carolina  convention 
authorized    their    delegates  to   unite  with  the  other    colonies 
in  a  declaration  of  independence.     In  the  following   Decem 
ber,  the  province  adopted  a  State  Constitution,  and   liberally 
furnished  her  quota  of  men;   but,  "beyond  the  partisan  war- 


w 


86  THIRTEEN   ORIGINAL   STATES. 

fare  between  the  loyalists  and  patriots,"  was  not  the  scene 
of  military  operations  until  1780.  October  9th  of  this  yean 
General  Ferguson  was  defeated  by  Shelby  and  Sevier,  and 
sustained  severe  losses.  The  memorable  battle  of  Cowpens 
took  place  January  iyth,  1781,  and  that  of  Guilford  Court 
House  occurred  March  5th,  1781.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  formed  in  1787,  rejected  by  North  Carolina  in 
1788,  was  finally  adopted  in  1789.  William  Hooper,  Joseph 
Hewes  and  John  Perm,  are  the  names  of  those  sons  of 
North  Carolina  who  felt  no  fear  in  the  final  moment  which 
preceded  the  signing  of  that  state  paper  which  far  outshone 
the  glory  even  of  the  British  Magna  Charta.  December, 
1 8th,  1776,  the  constitution  of  North  Carolina  was  fully 
ratified  in  the  congress  by  which  it  had  been  framed. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  200,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  800,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  34,000.  Present 
total  wealth,  $225,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $300. 

There  are  eight  colleges  in  the  State.  Of  these,  the 
South  Carolina  College,  at  Columbia,  is  a  State  institution. 

The  products  are  cotton,  rice,  tobacco,  maize,  oats,  rye, 
barley,  etc.;  also,  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  inter 
ests  are  of  an  important  scope  and  nature.  Probably  the 
first  essay  at  peaceful  colonization  in  this  country  was  made 
by  a  party  of  French  Huguenots  under  John  Ribanet,  who, 
in  1562,  was  despatched  on  a  voyage  of  exploration  to 
Florida.  After  the  discovery  in  May  of  that  year  of  the 


SOUTH  CAROLINA.  87 

St.  John's  (May)  River,  he  coasted  northward,  and  ultimately 
entered  the  commodious    inlet  which  he   named   Port    Royal. 
On    an    island    in    that    harbor    he    then    constructed    a    fort 
called  Carolina,   after  Charles   IX.,   of   France.      Hut  the  set 
tlement     there     planted     became     discontented,    killed     the 
commandant,    and    shortly  after    returned    to    Prance.      The 
subsequent    settlement  was    made    in    1670,   by   English    col 
onists,    first    at    Port    Royal,    then    at    Old    Charleston,    and 
finally,  in    1680,   at  the   present    Charleston.      As   "Carolina," 
both   the    present  states  were    held   as  a  proprietary  govern 
ment,    nominally     under     the     famous     model     constitution 
arranged    by    John    Locke,    till    July,    1729,    when    the    king 
becoming    by    purchase    sole    owner,    formed    the    Carolinas 
into    two    separate    royal    colonies.     In    1685,  large    numbers 
of   French   Huguenots  settled   in  South   Carolina,  which  were 
followed  later  by  considerable  settlements  of  Swiss,  German, 
and  Irish  emigrants.      At  various    periods  the  colonists  were 
severely  harassed    by   the  hostile   natives,  and,  with  Georgia, 
were  engaged    in  a   contest  with   the   Spanish   settlements  in 
Florida.      At    the    outbreak    of   revolutionary    hostilities,  and 
throughout    the    conflict,  South    Carolina    was    the    scene    of 
destructive    warfare,  and    on   her    soil  many    hotly  contested 
battles    and    skirmishes   were    fought    with    varying    success. 
Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston,  King's    Mountain,  Camden,  Eutaw 
Springs,  Cowpens,  and  -other  names  of  -thrilling  historic  and 
national    interest,  evoke    memories    rife  with    pregnant    asso 
ciations.       The     last    engagement     of    any    importance,    the 
battle    of     Eutaw    Springs,    between    General     Greene     and 
Colonel    Stuart,   in    which    both    sides    claimed    the    victory, 
was  fought    within    the    boundaries    of   this    State,  and    vir- 


88  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

tually  terminated  the  contest  in  the  south.  The  provisional 
constitution  of  South  Carolina  dates  from  the  26th  of  March, 
1776.  In  March,  1778,  a  permanent  constitution  was  estab 
lished  by  an  act  of  the  legislature,  without  any  previous 
consultation  of  the  people.  During  the  greater  part  of  1780 
and  1781,  the  country  was  held  by  the  British,  and  this 
continual  occupation  of  their  land  was  the  cause  of  incessant 
skirmishes  and  uprisings  on  the  part  of  the  energetic  and 
irrepressible  citizens.  The  partisan  warfare  conducted  so 
gallantly  by  Marion,  Sumter  and  Lee  was,  both  directly  and 
indirectly,  the  source  of  great  benefit  to  the  common  cause, 
and  the  ever  ready  helpfulness  of  the  planters  and  back 
woodsmen  assisted  greatly  in  precipitating  the  final  and 
welcome  result.  From  South  Carolina  went  forth  Edward 
Rutledge,  Thomas  Hey  ward,  Thomas  Lynch,  Jr.,  and  Arthur 
Middleton,  to  append  their  names,  by  the  authority  of  their 
fellow-citizens,  to  that  declaration  which  is  our  guide  along 
the  road  of  time  to  the  regions  of  happy  grandeur  and 
prosperity. 

GEORGIA. 

POPULATION. 

1776,  nearly  75,000  inhabitants.  1876,  nearly  1,200,000 
inhabitants.  Present  area  in  square  miles,  58,000.  Present 
total  wealth,  $275,000,000.  Average  wealth,  $250. 

The  principal  collegiate  and  professional  schools  are 
Franklin  College,  Athens;  Oglethorpe  University,  Milledge- 
ville;  Emory  College,  Oxford;  Mercer  University,  Pennfield, 
and  Wesleyan  Female  College,  Macon. 


GEORGIA.  89 

Georgia's  cotton,  the  longstaple,  or,  as  it  is  called  from 
the  place  of  its  growth,  "sea-island  cotton,"  is  justly  cele 
brated.  Gold  and  copper  are  found  in  limited  quantities, 
also  valuable  limestones.  The  northern  section  of  the  state 
is  a  grain  country,  producing  wheat,  rye,  oats,  Indian  corn  and 
barley.  The  manufacturing  establishments  are  also  of  im 
portance,  while  the  sum  total  of  its  coast  trade,  imports  and 
exports,  attains  considerable  dimensions.  Previous  to  1733, 
the  country  lying  within  Georgia's  present  boundaries  was  an 
uncultured  wilderness,  and,  though  comprehended  within  the 
charter  of  Carolina,  had  been  claimed  both  by  Spain  and 
England.  By  patent,  dated  June  Qth,  1732,  George  I.I. 
granted  the  territory  to  a  corporation,  entitled,  "The  trustees 
for  settling  the  colony  of  Georgia."  The  measures  con 
cerning  this  province  were  actuated  equally  by  charitable  and 
political  considerations;  on  the  one  hand,  a  pleasant  retreat 
was  desired  for  the  needy  and  deserving  in  the  mother 
country;  on  the  other,  it  was  advised  as  a  measure  of  state 
policy,  to  rescue  the  frontiers  of  the  Carolinas  from  the 
marauding  incursions  of  the  Spaniards  and  Indians  from 
Florida.  In  November,  1732,  120  persons  were  embarked 
at  Gravesend,  under  the  control  of  General  James  Ogle- 
thorpe,  and  in  January,  1733,  landed  at  Charleston.  The 
permanent  settlement  was  commenced  at  Savannah,  in  the 
ensuing  spring,  and  in  1734  was  further  strengthened  by  the 
arrival  of  600  additional  immigrants.  In  1739,  war  broke 
out  between  England  and  Spain,  and  Oglethorpe  invaded 
Florida.  Failing  in  his  attack,  however,  upon  St.  Augustine, 
in  1742,  as  a  measure  of  retaliation,  the  Spaniards  took 

Fort    St.    Simon,    and    also    meditated    the    destruction    of 
x 


9o  THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL   STATES. 

Fort    Frederica,    which    was    saved    by    the    shrewdness    of 
Oglethorpe.      Later,    the    trustees    surrendered    their    charter 
to  the  crown,  and   in   1752,  Georgia  became   a  royal  govern 
ment,  and  in   1755  a  general  assembly  was  established  in  the 
territory.      At  this   date,   the    limits  of   the    colony  were  the 
Savannah    on    the    north    and    the    Altamaha   on    the    south, 
extending  westward  to  the   Pacific.      But  by  a  royal   procla 
mation   in    1763,  all   the   lands   lying  between   the   Altamaha 
and  St.  Mary's  were  annexed  to  Georgia.     At  the  beginning 
of  the   Revolutionary  troubles,   though  the   infant  state   "had 
just  begun  to  enjoy  the  blessings   of  peace  and  of  a  more 
beneficent    system    of  government,"   she   did   not    hesitate  to 
strike  hands  with   her   oppressed    brothers  in  the  north,  did 
not  falter  and  pause   timorously  to  weigh   each  pro  and   con, 
but  worded    her  sympathy  and     promises  with  warmth    and 
decision.       In    March,     1775,    she    appointed    a    delegate    to 
congress,    and    in    the    following    July   gave    her    sanction  to 
the  measures  of  congress.     February  5th,   1777,  her   organic 
law    was    perfected    by    the     unanimous    agreement    of    the 
convention.       While    the    war     was    waging,    Georgia     was 
incessantly  invaded    by  the    British  troops,  suffered  severely 
from    the    destruction    of   her    property   and    the    devastation 
of  her  plantations,  and  her  most  honored  sons  and  daughters 
were  compelled  to  abandon  their  cherished  homes  and  con 
ceal  themselves  in  the  bordering  states,  where  too,  often,  they 
fell  victims    to  poverty  and   disease — willing  martyrs   to  that 
holy   cause   which   was    upheld   with   all    the   fervor   of    their 
southern    hearts.      In    1778,  Savannah  was    captured,  and  in 
the  following  year,   Augusta  and  Sunbury  were  occupied  by 
the  enemy.     In   1779,  a  valiant  but  futile  attempt  was   made 


GEORGIA. 

by  the  French  and  Americans  to  recapture  Savannah.  When 
news  of  the  skirmishes  at  Lexington  had  fired  Savannah, 
her  frontier  was  threatened  by  the  hostile  Creeks,  Chick- 
asaws,  Cherokees  and  Choctaws,  while  her  numerous 
African  slaves  justly  inspired  anxious  apprehensions  of  a 
servile  insurrection;  yet,  with  little  delay,  the  Georgians 
involved  themselves  irrevocably  with  the  "outlaws  and 
rebels"  of  Massachusetts,  and,  breaking  open  the  king's 
magazine,  they  took  from  it  nearly  600  Ibs.  of  powder,  and 
forwarded  to  the  north  sixty-three  barrels  of  rice,  and  ^122 
in  specie.  Button  Gwinnett,  Lyman  Hall  and  George 
Walton  are  the  names  of  the  three  patriots  who  staked 
their  lives  and  fortunes  upon  the  issue  of  a  sublime,  but 
apparently  unequal  conflict — apparently,  only,  since  the 
genius  of  right  was  with  one,  against  the  other — in  which 
the  first  European  power  and  the  instincts  of  mediaevalism 
were  to  be  baffled  by  an  infant  commonwealth  and  the 
liberal  spirit  of  the  age. 


92  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

BIOGRAPHIES    OF  THE 

SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

OF  THE  UNITED   STATES   OF  AMERICA. 

JOHN  HANCOCK,  President  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress,  was  born  in  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  January  I2th, 
1737,  and  died  there  October  8th,  1793.  In  1754  he  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  and  subsequently  was  em 
ployed  in  the  counting  house  of  an  uncle,  who,  dying  in 
1764,  left  to  him  the  large  fortune  which  enabled  him  to 
figure  so  prominently  as  an  enterprising  merchant.  In  1766, 
as  associate  with  Otis,  Gushing  and  Samuel  Adams,  he  was 
chosen  to  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives  from 
Boston.  "It  was  the  seizure  of  his  sloop  'the  Liberty,'  that 
occasioned  the  riot  in  1768."  Afterward  he  became  a 
member  of  the  provincial  congress  at  Concord,  and  in  1774 
was  chosen  its  president.  In  1775  he  became  president  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  in  1776  signed  the  declaration 
of  independence.  In  1777  he  returned  to  Massachusetts, 
and  in  1780  was  chosen  first  governor,  to  which  office,  with 
an  interval  of  two  years,  he  was  annually  re-elected  till  his 
death. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

JOSIAH  BARTLETT,  M.  D.,  governor  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  was  born  in  Amesbury,  Massachusetts,  in  November, 
1729,  and  died  May  igth,  1795.  He  commenced  the  practice 
of  medicine  in  1750,  at  Kingston.  After  receiving  various 
appointments  from  John  Wentworth,  the  royal  governor, 


LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  93 

he  was  deprived  of  them  in  1775,  on  account  of  his  zeal 
ous  Whig  principles.  In  1774  he  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  a  regiment  of  militia.  As  a  delegate  to  the 
Continental  Congress,  he  was  the  first  whb  voted  for  the 
declaration,  and  the  first,  after  the  president,  to  sign  that 
memorable  document.  In  1777,  he  accompanied  Stark  to 
Bennington.  In  1779  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of 
the  common  pleas;  in  1784,  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  in  1788,  Chief  Justice.  In  the  convention  called  to 
adopt  the  Federal  Constitution,  in  1788,  he  was  a  prominent 
mover,  and  in  1790,  was  president  of  New  Hampshire.  In 
1793  he  became  the  first  governor  under  the  new  state 
constitution.  He  was,  moreover,  president  of  the  Medical 
Society,  established,  by  his  exertions,  in  1791. 

WILLIAM  WHIPPLE  was  born  in  Kittery,  Maine, 
in  1730,  and  died  November  8th,  1785.  Prior  to  his 
twenty-first  year,  he  had  made  several  voyages  to  England 
as  captain;  but,  relinquishing  a  sea-faring  life  in  1759,  he 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp 
shire.  In  January,  1775,  he  became  the  district  representative 
in  the  provincial  congress  convened  at  Exeter,  and  subse 
quently,  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was 
appointed  brigadier  general  in  1777,  commanded  the  first 
brigade  of  New  Hampshire  troops,  and  participated  in  the 
actions  of  Stillwater  and  Saratoga.  In  1778  he  arrested 
General  Sullivan  in  the  siege  of  Newport.  He  was  finan 
cial  receiver  for  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  from  1782  till 
1784,  and  in  the  former  year  was  appointed  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  state. 


Y 


94  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

MATTHEW  THORNTON  was  born  in  Ireland  about 
the  year  1714,  and  died  in  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  June 
24th,  1803.  In  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  he  received  an 
academical  education,  and  subsequently  studied  the  science 
of  medicine  under  Dr.  Grout,  of  Leicester,  Massachusetts. 
In  the  expedition  against  Cape  Breton,  in  1745,  he  was 
enrolled  as  surgeon,  and  ably  performed  his  onerous  duties. 
At  the  commencement  of  the  conflict  he  resided  in  London 
derry,  holding  the  rank  of  a  colonel  in  the  militia,  and,  under 
the  administration  of  Benning  Wentworth,  was  commissioned 
a  justice  of  the  peace.  In  1775  he  was  appointed  the  first 
president  of  the  provincial  convention.  January  5th,  1776, 
he  was  elected  speaker  of  the  general  assembly.  September 
1 2th,  1776,  he  was  appointed,  by  the  house  of  representatives, 
a  delegate  to  represent,  for  one  year,  the  state  of  New  Hamp 
shire  in  Congress.  January  loth,  1776,  he  was  appointed  a 
judge  of  the  superior  court  of  New  Hampshire,  having  previ 
ously  received  the  appointment  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  court 
of  common  pleas.  December  24th,  1776,  he  was  elected 
to  represent  in  congress,  for  one  year,  the  state  of  New 
Hampshire.  In  1779  he  removed  to  Exeter,  and,  in  1780, 
purchased  a  farm  on  the  banks  of  the  Merrimack,  to  which 
he  shortly  after  retired.  Subsequently,  for  several  years,  he 
was  selectman  of  the  town,  also  served  as  a  member  of  the 
general  court,  and  was  elected  to  the  office  of  senator  to  the 
State  Legislature.  January  25th,  1784,  he  was  appointed  a 
justice  of  the  peace  and  quorum  throughout  the  state  under 
the  new  constitution,  which  office  he  held  until  the  time  of 
his  demise.  In  1785,  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  council, 
under  the  presidency  of  John  Langdon. 


LIl'ES  OP  THE  SIGNERS.  95 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

SAMUEL  ADAMS  was  born  in  Boston,  September  2yth, 
1722,  where  he  died  October  2cl,  1803.  His  preliminary 
education  was  acquired  at  the  Boston  Latin  school,  whence 
he  entered  Cambridge  in  1736.  In  1765  he  was  chosen  as 
one  of  the  three  representatives  in  the  general  court  of  the 
town  of  Boston.  At  the  time  of  the  so-called  "Boston 
massacre,"  in  March,  1770,  he  was  a  prominent  agent,  and 
a.  bold  mover  in  important  matters.  At  the  June  (1774) 
meeting  of  the  general  court,  a  Continental  Congress  was 
proposed  to  assemble  at  Philadelphia,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  five  delegates  appointed  by  the  representatives.  In  this 
congress,  and  in  those  which  followed,  he  was,  during  eight 
years,  noted  for  his  energy,  decision  and  ability.  He  partici 
pated  prominently  in  the  formation  of  the  state  constitution 
of  Massachusetts,  adopted  in  1780,  and  was  a  leading  spirit 
of  the  Massachusetts  convention  called  in  1788.  He  was 
the  author  of  many  important  state  papers,  and  numerous 
political  tracts  and  pamphlets.  His  oration  on  American 
Independence,  delivered  in  Philadelphia,  August  ist,  1776, 
is  a  favorable  specimen  of  his  style,  and  admirably  illus 
trative  of  the  general  character  of  its  composer. 

JOHN  ADAMS  was  born  October  igth,  1735,  in  that 
part  of  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  which  is  on  the  south  shore 
of  Boston  Harbor,  ten  miles  distant  from  Boston,  where  he 
died  July  4th,  1826.  He  acquired  a  classical  education  at 
Harvard  College,  whence  he  graduated  in  1755.  He  was 
afterward  entrusted  with  the  charge  of  the  grammar  school 
in  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  After  completing  a  two  years 


96  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

course  of  legal  studies  in  Worcester,  he  removed,  in  1758, 
to  Suffolk  county,  and  gradually  introduced  himself  into 
practice.  In  1764  he  married  Abigail  Smith,  and  shortly 
after,  presented  the  Braintree  town  meeting  with  the  notable 
resolutions  concerning  the  Stamp  Act.  He  was  subse 
quently  appointed  one  of  the  counsel  to  support  a  memorial 
addressed  to  the  governor  and  the  council.  Removing  to 
Boston  in  1768,  in  1770  he  was  chosen  a  representative  to 
the  General  Court.  In  the  congress  of  1774,  he  was  one 
of  the  five  delegates  from  Massachusetts  to  Philadelphia, 
and  upon  his  return,  was  elected  a  member,  for  Braintree,  of 
the  provincial  congress  then  in  session.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress  of  1775,  and  after  his  return  home, 
sat  as  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  council.  Later,  he  was 
instrumental  in  drawing  up  the  basis  of  our  existing  naval 
code,  and  urged  the  necessity  of  advising  all  the  provinces 
to  institute  governments  of  their  own.  He  was  subsequently 
appointed  chief  justice  of  Massachusetts,  but  resigned  that 
office  in  1777.  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  though 
drawn  up  by  Jefferson,  was  strenuously  upheld  by  him  in 
a  three  days'  debate,  and,  June  I2th,  congress  established 
the  board  of  war  and  ordnance,  of  which  he  was  made 
chairman  or  president.  He  was  also  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  upon  which  devolved  the  decision  of  appeals  in 
admiralty  cases  from  the  state  courts.  In  1777  he  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  France,  to  supersede  Deane, 
and,  embarking  at  Boston,  in  the  frigate  Boston,  February 
1 2th,  1778,  arrived  in  Paris  April  8th.  After  his  return, 
he  was  appointed  by  congress,  minister  to  treat  with  Great 
Britain  for  peace  and  commerce,  when  he  sailed  again  for 


LIVES  OF   THE   SIGNERS.  97 

France  in  1779.  In  July  1780  he  proceeded  to  Holland, 
where  he  was  appointed  by  congress  to  negotiate  a  Dutch 
loan.  Later,  he  was  appointed  minister  to  Holland,  com 
missioned  to  sign  the  articles  of  the  armed  neutrality.  But 
in  July,  1781,  he  was  recalled  to  Paris.  In  1782  he  succeeded 
in  negotiating  a  Dutch  loan  of  $2,000,000,  and  also  a  treaty 
of  commerce  and  amity.  In  May,  1785,  he  arrived,  as 
minister,  at  the  court  of  St.  James.  In  February,  1788,  he 
received  a  solicited  recall,  and,  on  his  arrival  home,  was 
reappointed  a  delegate  from  Massachusetts  to  the  Conti 
nental  Congress.  Upon  the  election  of  Washington  to  the 
presidency,  he  became  vice-president,  and,  by  virtue  of  his 
new  office,  president  of  the  senate.  In  1792  he  was  re- 
elected.  After  Washington's  retirement,  he  was  elected 
president  chosen  by  a  very  slender  majority.  In  1820,  he 
was  chosen  a  delegate  by  his  townsmen  in  the  convention 
called  to  revise  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts.  His  chief 
publications  are  as  follows:  "Essay  on  the  Canon  and 
Feudal  Law,"  "Essays  by  Novanglus,"  or,  "A  History  of 
the  Dispute  with  America;"  'Thoughts  on  Government 
Applicable  to  the  Present  State  of  the  American  Colonies;" 
"Twenty-six  Letters  upon  Interesting  Subjects;"  "Defence 
of  the  American  Constitution;"  "Discourses  on  Davila,"  and 
an  "Autobiography." 

ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE  was  born  in  Boston,  March 
nth,  1731,  and  died  there  May  nth,  1814.  After  gradu 
ating  at  Harvard  College,  he  studied  theology,  and  acted, 
in  1755,  as  chaplain  of  the  troops  on  the  northern  frontier. 
Subsequently  he  studied  law  and  established  himself  in 


98  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

Boston.  In  1768  he  was  a  delegate  from  the  town  of 
Taunton  to  the  convention  called  in  Boston  after  the  dis 
solution  of  the  general  court  by  Governor  Bernard.  In  1770 
he  conducted  the  prosecution  against  Captain  Preston  and 
his  men.  In  1773-74  he  was  chosen  a  representative  from 
Taunton  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  and  in 
the  latter  year  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress.  Re-elected  in  1775,  he  was  one  of  the  committee 
of  three  deputed  to  visit  Schuyler's  army.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  congresses  of  1776,  1777,  1778,  and  in  1777  was 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Massachusetts  and  Attorney  General 
of  the  state.  In  1779  he  was  a  member  of  the  executive 
council,  and  a  delegate  to  the  convention,  also  one  of  the 
committee  which  formed  the  constitution  of  the  common 
wealth.  In  1780  he  was  chosen  attorney  general,  filling  that 
office  until  1790,  when  he  became  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  On  account  of  failing  health  he  resigned  that  office 
in  1804;  during  this  year  he  was  also  a  state  councillor.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  American  Academy,  situated 
in  Massachusetts,  in  1780. 

ELBRIDGE  GERRY  was  born  in  Marblehead,  Massa 
chusetts,  July  1 7th,  1744,  and  died  in  Washington,  November 
1 3th,  1814.  After  graduating  at  Harvard  College  in  1762, 
he  was  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  for  several  years, 
and,  in  1772,  was  elected  representative  from  Marblehead  to 
the  general  legislature  of  the  state.  He  was  placed  on  the 
two  important  committees  of  safety  and  supplies  which  sat 
at  Cambridge,  on  the  day  preceding  the  battle  of  Lexington. 
In  January,  1776,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Continental 


LIJSES   OF   THE   SIGNERS.  99 

Congress,  where  he  was  generally  chairman  of  the  committee 
of  the  treasury  till  the  organization  of  the  treasury  board  in 
1780.  Returning  from  congress  in  1780,  he  resumed  his  seat 
in  1783.  While  delegate  to  the  Philadelphia  convention 
of  1787,  he  refused  to  sign  the  constitution  proposed,  but 
subsequently  lent  to  it  his  support.  From  1795  till  1797, 
he  resided  in  Cambridge,  when,  with  Pinckney  and  Marshall, 
he  was  sent  to  France  on  a  special  commission  to  avert  the 
impending  rupture  between  that  country  and  America.  In 
1798,  also  in  1801,  he  was  unsuccessfully  supported  by  the 
Democratic  party  of  Massachusetts  for  the  office  of  governor; 
in  1710  he  secured  that  position,  and  in  1811  was  re-elected. 
In  1812  he  was  elected  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

RHODE  ISLAND. 

STEPHEN  HOPKINS  was  born  in  Scituate,  Rhode 
Island,  March  7th,  1707,  and  died  in  Providence,  July  I3th, 
1785.  In  1733  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  general 
assembly,  and  in  1739  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas.  He  was  elected  governor  of  the  state  in  1755,  and, 
with  the  exception  of  four  years,  held  that  position  until 
1768.  In  1754  he  acted  with  the  commissioners  assembled 
at  Albany,  New  York,  to  further  the  union  of  the  colonies, 
and  in  1765  was  chosen  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed 
in  Providence  to  draft  instructions  to  the  general  assembly 
on  the  Stamp  Act  In  August,  1774,  he  represented  his 
state  in  the  general  congress  held  at  Philadelphia,  and  was 
also  chosen  in  1775  and  1776.  For  many  years  he  was 
chancellor  of  Brown  University.  In  1765  he  published 


ioo  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

"The  Rights  of  the   Colonies   Examined,"  and  also  began  a 
"History  of  the   Planting  and  Growth   of    Providence." 

WILLIAM  ELLERY  was  born  in  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  December  22d,  1727,  and  died  there  February  I5th, 
1820.  Graduating  from  Harvard  College  in  1747,  he  subse 
quently  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  his  native  place. 
In  1770  he  began  the  practice  of  the  law  in  Newport,  and 
in  May,  1776,  took  his  seat  in  the  congress  of  that  year  as 
one  of  the  delegates  for  Rhode  Island.  With  the  exception 
of  the  years  1780  and  1782,  he  remained  in  congress  till 
1786.  In  April,  1786,  he  was  elected,  by  congress,  commis 
sioner  of  the  continental  loan  office  for  the  state  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  in  1790  was  appointed  collector  of  Newport, 
which  office  he  filled  until  his  decease. 

CONNECTICUT. 

ROGER  SHERMAN  was  born  in  Newton,  Massachu 
setts,  April  i Qth,  1721,  and  died  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
July  23d,  1793.  In  early  life  he  followed  the  occupation  of 
shoemaking.  In  1743  he  removed  to  New  Milford,  Con 
necticut,  and  in  1745  was  appointed  surveyor  of  lands  for 
the  county.  In  1754  he  Was  admitted  to  the  bar,  was  sev 
eral  times  elected  a  member  of  the  colonial  assembly,  and 
in  1759  was  appointed  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas. 
In  1765  he  was  judge  of  the  common  pleas  in  New  Haven, 
and  in  1766,  an  assistant  of  the  upper  house  in  the  legisla 
ture.  In  1744  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  first 
congress,  and  held  that  position  until  his  demise,  at  which 
time  he  was  in  the  senate,  whereto  he  was  elected  in  1791. 


LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  101 

From  1784  until  his  decease,  he  was  also  Mayor  of  New 
Haven,  and,  for  several  years,  was  treasurer  of  Yale  College. 
He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  constitutional  convention 
of  1787,  and  assisted  importantly  in  codifying  the  laws  of 
Connecticut,  and  in  securing  the  ratification  of  the  constitu 
tion  by  the  state  convention  of  Connecticut. 

SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON  was  born  in  Windham,  Con 
necticut,  July  3d,  1732,  and  died  in  Norwich,  January  5th, 
1796.  Prior  to  1775,  after  completing  his  legal  education, 
he  held  the  offices  of  king's  attorney,  and  associate  justice 
of  the  superior  court  of  Connecticut.  He  entered  the 
Continental  Congress  as  a  delegate  from  his  native  stajtji, 
in  January,  1776.  He  succeeded  John  Jay  as  president  .-of 
congress  in  September,  1779,  and  filled  that  office  until  July'/ 
1780,  when  he  resumed  his  seat  on  the  Connecticut  bench. 
From  May  to  June,  1783,  he  served  again  in  congress.  In 
the  following  year  he  was  appointed  chief  justice  of  the 
superior  court  of  Connecticut.  Of  this  state  he  was  elected 
lieutenant  governor  in  1785,  and  in  1786  succeeded  Roger 
Griswold  as  governor,  a  position  to  which  he  was  annually 
elected  until  his  demise. 

WILLIAM  WILLIAMS  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Wind- 
ham  county,  Connecticut,  April  8th,  1731,  and  died  there 
August  2d,  1811.  In  1751  he  graduated  from  Harvard  Col 
lege,  and  in  1755,  attached  to  the  staff  of  Colonel  Ephraim 
Williams,  made  one  campaign.  Subsequently,  he  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  council  of  safety,  and  in  October, 
1775,  became  a  representative  in  the  Continental  Congress. 

AA 


102  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

He  served  nearly  fifty  years  in  the  state  legislature,  held 
many  offices  of  trust  and  honor,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  of  his  state  which  adopted  the  federal  constitution. 

OLIVER  WALCOTT  was  born  in  Connecticut,  November 
26th,  1726,  and  died  December  ist,  1797.  After  graduating 
at  Yale  College,  he  received  a  captain's  commission  from 
the  governor  of  New  York,  and  was  engaged  in  the  defence 
of  the  northern  frontier  until  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
In  1751  he  was  appointed  sheriff  of  Litchfield  county,  Con 
necticut,  and  in  1774,  a  member  of  the  state  council.  He 
was  also  a  major  general  of  militia,  a  judge  of  the  probate 
:Cpurt,  and  chief  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  In 
''iWiv.h6  was  one  °f  ^e  commissioners  of  Indian  affairs 
•fof'th'e  northern  department.  In  1776  he  commanded  the 
fourteen  Connecticut  regiments  organized  to  assist  the  army 
in  New  York,  and  in  this  year  took  his  seat  in  congress. 
Though  a  participant  in  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  he  continued 
to  serve  irregularly  in  congress  until  1783.  From  1786  to 
1796  he  was  lieutenant  governor  of  Connecticut,  when 
he  was  elected  governor,  which  position  he  filled  until  his 
decease. 

NEW  YORK. 

WILLIAM  FLOYD  was  born  in  Suffolk  county,  New 
York,  December  I7th,  1734,  and  died  in  Western,  Oneida 
county,  August  4th,  1821.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  troubles,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
Suffolk  county,  and  a  delegate  to  the  first  Continental  Con 
gress  in  Philadelphia.  In  1775  he  was  again  appointed  a 


LI  YES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  103 

delegate  to  the  general  colonial  congress,  and  continued 
a  member  for  eight  years.  In  1777  he  became  senator  for 
the  state  of  New  York,  retaining  also  his  seat  in  congress. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  first  congress  under  the  consti 
tution,  and  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  in  1801.  In 
this  year,  also,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  convention 
to  revise  the  constitution  of  his  native  state,  and,  subse 
quently,  upon  two  occasions,  was  presidential  elector. 

PHILIP  LIVINGSTON  was  born  in  Albany,  New 
York,  January  i5th,  1716,  and  died  in  York,  Pennsylvania, 
June  1 2th,  1778.  After  graduating  at  Yale  College  in  1737, 
he  was  engaged  in  commerce  in  the  city  of  New  York.  In 
1758  he  was  returned  to  the  colonial  house  of  assembly  from 
that  city,  and  continued  a  member  of  that  body  until  1769. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  first  and  second  Continental  Con 
gresses,  served  later  in  the  New  York  provincial  congress, 
in  the  state  assembly,  and  in  the  senate.  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  he  was  a  delegate  from  New  York  to  the  Continental 
Congress  then  sitting  in  York. 

FRANCIS  LEWIS  was  born  in  Llandaff,  Glamorgan 
shire,  Wales,  in  March,  1713,  and  died  in  New  York, 
December  3Oth,  1803.  He  was  educated  at  Westminster 
school,  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  emigrated  to  New 
York.  He  was  afterward  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  conflict  in  1775.  He  was  then 
elected  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  in  May,  1775,  took 
his  seat  in  that  body,  as  one  of  the  delegates  from  New 
York.  Until  April,  1779,  with  the  exception  of  one  short 


104  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

interval,  he  continued  to  be  a  member  of  congress,  taking  a 
prominent  part  in  all  important  measures. 

.* 

LEWIS  MORRIS  was    born  at    Morrisania,  Westchester 

county,  New  York,  in  1726,  and  died  January  22d,  1798. 
After  graduating  at  Yale  College,  in  1746,  he  interested  him 
self  extensively  in  farming  and  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
was  elected  to  the  congress  of  1775,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  to  devise  means  for  supplying  the  colonies 
with  munitions  of  war.  He  was  subsequently  sent  west  to 
detach  the  Indians  from  the  British,  and  in  1776  resumed 
his  seat  in  congress.  He  afterward  served  in  the  state 
legislature,  and  spent  the  latter  days  of  his  life  in  Morrisania. 

NEW  JERSEY. 

RICHARD  STOCKTON  was  born  near  Princeton,  New 
Jersey,  October  ist,  1730,  and  died  there,  February  28th, 
1781.  After  graduating  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  at 
Newark,  in  1748,  he  studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1754.  In  1768  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  exec 
utive  council  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  1774,  appointed  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  elected  to  congress  in  1776, 
served  on  the  committee  appointed  to  inspect  the  northern 
army,  and  eventually  was  captured  by  the  British,  and  con 
fined  in  the  prison  at  New  York.  Ultimately  the  severe 
treatment  which  he  experienced  there  affected  his  health,  and 
was  the  immediate  cause  of  his  death. 

JOHN  WITHERSPOON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D,  was  born  in 
the  parish  of  Tester,  Haddingtonshire,  Scotland,  February 


OF  THE  SIGNERS.  105 

5th,  1722,  and  died  near  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  September 
1 5th,  1794.  He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Edin 
burgh,  and  in  1745  ordained  minister  of  the  parish  of  Beith, 
in  the  west  of  Scotland.  Shortly  after  the  death  of  Presi 
dent  Finley,  in  1766,  he  was  appointed  as  his  successor,  and 
was  inaugurated  in  August,  1768.  During  the  period  of 
his  presidency,  he  was  also  pastor  of  the  church  in  Princeton. 
In  1776  he  was  a  member  of  the  provincial  congress  of 
New  Jersey,  and  of  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 
For  six  years  he  represented  New  Jersey  in  congress.  The 
following  list  comprises  his  chief  contributions  to  literature: 
"Ecclesiastical  Characteristics,"  "Essay  on  Justification,"  and 
"Serious  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Effects  of  the  Stage.' 

FRANCIS  HOPKINSON  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in 
1737,  died  May  gth,  1791.  He  was  graduated  at  the  College 
of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1761  was  secretary  in  a  conference 
held  on  the  Lehigh  between  the  Pennsylvania  government 
and  various  Indian  tribes.  In  1776  he  was  sent  from  New 
Jersey  as  one  of  her  representatives  in  congress.  In  1779 
he  was  made  judge  of  the  admiralty  of  Pennsylvania,  an 
office  filled  by  him  for  ten  years.  He  was  subsequently 
commissioned  as  United  States  district  judge  for  Pennsyl 
vania.  He  is  the  author  of  "The  Pretty  Story,"  'The 
Prophecy,"  "The  Battle  of  the  Kegs,"  etc. 

JOHN  HART  was  born  in  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  and 
died  there,  at  an  advanced  age,  in  1780.  He  was  frequently 
elected  to  the  colonial  assembly,  and  in  1774  was  elected  to 
assist  at  the  general  congress  in  Philadelphia,  where  his 


106  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

distinguishing    characteristics,  reliable   judgment   and    inflex 
ible  will,  won  him  favorable  notice  upon  many  occasions. 

ABRAHAM  CLARK  was  born  at  Elizabethtown,  New 
Jersey,  February  15*,  1726,  and  died  at  Rahway,  New  Jersey, 
in  the  fall  of  1794.  He  held  several  important  local  offices 
under  the  colonial  government,  and,  June  2ist,  1776,  was 
appointed  by  the  provincial  congress  one  of  the  five  dele 
gates  from  New  Jersey  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He 
afterward  served,  with  the  exception  of  the  session  of  1779, 
until  November,  1783.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
in  the  convention  which  met  at  Annapolis,  September  nth, 
1786.  May  8th,  1787,  he  was  appointed  by  the  council  and 
assembly  of  New  Jersey  one  of  the  commissioners  to  repre 
sent  that  state  in  the  convention  which  framed  the  federal 
constitution.  In  1790  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 


second  congress. 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


ROBERT  MORRIS  was  born  in  Lancashire,  England, 
January  2oth,  1734,  and  died  in  Philadelphia,  May  8th,  1806. 
In  1754,  after  settling  in  Philadelphia,  he  entered  into  busi 
ness  as  partner  with  the  son  of  Charles  Willing.  Zealously 
opposing  the  Stamp  Act,  he  signed  the  non-importation 
agreement  of  1765.  He  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the 
congress  of  1775,  and,  July  ist,  1776,  voted  against  the 
declaration  of  independence.  On  the  2Oth  of  the  same 
month,  he  was  re-elected  to  congress, '  and  again,  in  1777. 
In  1780  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  a  bank,  by 
means  of  which  3,000,000  rations  of  provisions  and  300 


LI  YES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  107 

hogsheads  of  rum  were  forwarded  to  the  army.  February 
2oth,  1781,  he  was  elected  superintendant  of  finance,  and 
subsequently  established  the  bank  of  North  America.  In 
that  important  office  he  served  until  November,  1784.  He 
also  regulated  the  affairs  of  the  navy  until  the  close  of 
1784,  and  in  1787  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention 
which  framed  the  federal  constitution.  October  ist,  1788, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first  United  States  Senate. 
In  the  opening  of  1784  he  sent  to  Canton  the  first  American 
vessel  that  ever  appeared  in  that  port. 

BENJAMIN  RUSH  was  born  on  Poquestion  Creek, 
near  Philadelphia,  December  24th,  1745,  and  died  in 
Philadelphia,  April  iQth,  1813.  After  graduating  at  Prince 
ton  College  in  1760,  he  studied  medicine  in  Philadelphia, 
Edinburgh,  London  and  Paris,  and  in  August,  1769, 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Philadelphia.  In 
1776  he  was  elected  to  congress,  and  in  April,  1777,  was 
made  surgeon-general  of  the  army  for  the  middle  depart 
ment,  and  in  the  following  July,  physician  general.  In  1785 
he  planned  the  Philadelphia  Dispensary,  and  in  1789  was 
made  professor  of  medicine  in  the  Philadelphia  Medical 
College.  In  1779  he  was  appointed  treasurer  of  the  United 
States  Mint,  and  filled  that  office  until  his  demise.  He  also 
filled  various  other  positions  of  trust  and  honor,  and  pub 
lished  several  valuable  works  on  physiology  and  medicine. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  was  born  in  Boston,  January 
1 7th,  1706  (O.  S.  January  6th),  and  died  in  Philadelphia, 
April  1 7th,  1790.  In  1750  he  was  elected  to  the  assembly, 


io8  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

was  appointed  commissioner  for  making  an  Indian  treaty, 
and  in  1753  became  deputy  postmaster  general  for  America. 
In  1754  he  was  named  a  deputy  to  the  general  congress  at 
Albany.  After  accomplishing  much  for  the  colonies  while 
resident  in  England  and  on  the  continent,  he  embarked  for 
home  in  March,  1775,  and  arrived  on  the  following  5th  of 
May.  In  1776  he  was  sent  to  Paris  as  commissioner  pleni 
potentiary,  and  concluded  the  treaty  of  February  6th,  1778. 
He  signed  the  peace  with  the  mother  country,  November 
3Oth,  1782,  and  subsequently  concluded  the  treaties  with 
Sweden  and  Prussia.  On  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  Septem 
ber  1 4th,  1785,  he  was  elected  "president  of  Pennsylvania," 
and  later  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  for  forming  the 
federal  constitution.  He  is  the  author  of  numerous  works, 
which  have  been  collected  in  twelve  volumes  and  edited  by 
Jared  Sparks. 

JOHN  MORTON  was  born  in  Ridley,  Chester  (now 
Delaware)  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1724,  and  died  in  April, 
1777.  In  1764  he  became  a  member  of  the  general  assem 
bly  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Stamp  Act 
Congress,  which  met  in  New  York  in  1765.  He  became 
Sheriff  of  his  county  about  1767,  and  later  was  appointed 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  his  state.  In 
1774  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  congress,  and  was  succes 
sively  re-elected  four  times. 

GEORGE  CLYMER  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1739, 
and  died  in  Morrisville,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  July 
23d,  1813.  He  was  a  prominent  speaker  at  the  "tea-meeting" 


LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  109 

held  in  Philadelphia,  October  i6th,  1773,  and  was  appointed 
chairman  of  the  committee  which  requested  the  tea  agents 
to  resign.  July  2Qth,  1775,  he  was  appointed  to  the  care  of 
the  public  treasury,  and  July  2oth,  1776,  became  a  delegate 
to  congress.  In  December,  1777,  he  was  sent  as  commis 
sioner  to  treat  with  the  hostile  Indians  at  Fort  Pitt.  In  1780 
he  was  re-elected  to  congress,  and  in  1782  was  associated 
with  Rutledge  in  his  mission  to  the  southern  states.  In 
1784  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legis 
lature,  and  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  framed  the 
federal  constitution.  In  November,  1788,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  first  congress  under  this  instrument,  and  in 
1790  declined  a  re-election.  He  was  subsequently  appointed 
collector  of  the  excise  duty  on  spirits. 

JAMES  SMITH  was  born  in  Ireland,  about  1719,  and 
died  in  York,  Pennsylvania,  July  nth,  1806.  He  came  to 
America  in  1729,  and  studied  law  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania. 
In  1774  he  was  chosen  a  deputy  to  attend  the  "Committee 
for  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,"  convened  at  Philadelphia 
July  1 5th  of  that  year.  In  1776  he  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  continued  to  act  in  that 
capacity  till  1778.  In  1780  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
general  assembly  of  Pennsylvania. 

GEORGE  TAYLOR  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1716,  and 
died  in  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  February  23d,  1781.  In  1764 
he  was  elected  to  the  provincial  assembly,  and  continued  a 
member  of  that  body  till  1770.  In  October,  1775,  he  was 
re-elected  to  the  provincial  assembly,  and  July  2oth,  1776, 
became  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  In  March, 
cc 


no  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

1777,   he  retired  from   congress,  and    thenceforward    lived    in 
retirement. 

JAMES  WILSON  was  born  near  St.  Andrew's,  Scotland, 
in  1742,  and  died  in  Edenton,  North  Carolina,  August  28th, 
1798.  In  1766  he  emigrated  to  Philadelphia,  and  studied 
law  under  John  Dickinson.  In  1774  he  sat  in  the  provincial 
convention  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  May,  1775,  became  a 
member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  to  which  body  he  was 
repeatedly  returned.  In  1779  he  was  appointed  advocate- 
general  of  France  in  the  United  States,  and  held  that  office 
till  1782.  He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  that  framed 
the  federal  constitution,  and  under  it  was  appointed  one  of 
the  first  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
In  1790  he  became  the  first  professor  of  law  in  the  College 
of  Philadelphia. 

GEORGE  ROSS  was  born  in  Newcastle,  Delaware,  in 
1730,  and  died  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  in  July,  1779. 
He  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Lancaster,  in  1751,  and 
from  1768  to  1776  was  a  member  of  the  colonial  assembly 
of  Pennsylvania.  In  1774  he  represented  Pennsylvania  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  was  connected  with  that 
body  till  January,  1777.  He  was  subsequently  elected  to 
the  general  convention  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  April,  1779, 
was  appointed  judge  of  the  court  of  admiralty. 

DELAWARE. 

C^SAR   RODNEY   was  born  in  Dover,  Delaware,  about 
1730,  and  died  in  1783.     At  least  as   early  as  1762  he  was  a 


OF   THE   SIGNERS.  in 

member,  from  his  native  county,  of  the  assembly,  which  met 
in  New  Castle.  In  1774,  by  his  authority  as  speaker,  he- 
called  a  meeting  of  the  legislature,  and  by  that  body  was 
elected  to  the  Continental  Congress  to  be  held  in  Phila 
delphia.  He  was  subsequently  re-elected,  and  also  made 
brigadier-general.  In  1777  he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
state  of  Delaware,  and  in  1782  declined  a  re-election.  He 
was  then  made  a  delegate  to  congress. 

GEORGE  READ  was  born  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland, 
in  1734,  and  died  in  1798.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  New  Castle,  Dela 
ware.  In  1763  he  was  appointed  attorney  general  for  the 
three  lower  counties  on  the  Delaware,  and  in  1774  was 
elected  to  congress.  In  1776  he  was  president  of  the  con 
vention  which  formed  the  first  constitution  of  Delaware, 
under  which  he  was  chosen  vice-president.  In  1782  he  was 
made  judge  of  the  United  States  court  of  appeals  in  admi 
ralty  cases.  After  representing  Delaware  in  the  convention 
that  formed  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  he  was  the 
first  senator  chosen  under  it  for  that  state.  In  1793  he  was 
made  Chief  Justice  of  Delaware. 

THOMAS  M'KEAN  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Penn 
sylvania,  March  igth,  1734,  and  died  June  24th,  1817.  In 
1765  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  assem 
bly,  and  annually  returned  thereto  for  the  next  seventeen 
years.  In  1765  he  attended  the  general  congress  of  the 
colonies  which  assembled  at  New  York,  and  in  that  year 
was  appointed  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for 


ii2  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

New  Castle  county.  In  September,  1774,  he  was  a  delegate 
from  the  lower  counties  in  Delaware  to  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  and  served  until  February,  1783.  In  1781  he  was 
elected  president  of  congress.  He  was  chief  justice  of  Penn 
sylvania  from  1777  until  1799,  when  he  became  governor  of 
the  state.  His  administration  lasted  until  1808. 

MARYLAND. 

SAMUEL  CHASE  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  Mary 
land,  April  I7th,  1741,  and  died  June  igth,  1811.  He  studied 
law  at  Annapolis,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  when  in  his 
twentieth  year.  The  Maryland  convention  sent  him  to  the 
Continental  Congress  of  1774,  and  he  continued  a  member 
of  successive  congresses  until  the  close  of  1778.  In  1783  he 
went  to  England,  as  commissioner  of  Maryland.  In  1788 
he  was  appointed  chief  justice  of  a  criminal  court  in  Bal 
timore,  and  in  1791  chief  justice  of  the  general  court  of 
Maryland.  In  1796  he  was  appointed  an  associate  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court. 

WILLIAM  PACA  was  born  in  Harford  county,  Mary 
land,  October  3ist,  1740,  and  died  in  1799.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1764,  and  in  1771  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
provincial  legislature.  On  the  adoption  of  the  constitution 
of  his  native  state,  he  was  made  senator  for  two  years.  In 
1778  he  became  chief  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Mary 
land,  and  in  1780,  chief  judge  of  the  court  of  appeals  in 
prize  and  admiralty  cases.  He  was  elected  governor  of 
Maryland  in  1782,  served  in  congress  in  1786,  and  in  this 


LIVES  OF   THE  SIGNERS.  "3 

year  was  re-elected  governor.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
state  convention  that  ratified  the  federal  constitution,  and  in 
1789  became  judge  of  the  district  court  of  the  United  States 
for  Maryland. 

THOMAS  STONE  was  born  at  Pointon  Manor,  Charles 
county,  Maryland,  in  1743,  and  died  in  Alexandria,  Vir 
ginia,  October  5th,  1787.  In  1769  he  commenced  the  practice 
of  law  at  Frederictown,  Maryland.  In  1774  he  was  added 
to  the  Maryland  delegation  in  congress,  and  re-chosen  in 
1775.  He  was  re-elected  to  congress  in  1777  and  in  1783, 
acting  in  the  interim  as  a  member  of  the  Maryland  legislature. 

CHARLES  CARROLL,  of  Carrollton,  was  born  at 
Annapolis,  Maryland,  September  2oth,  1737,  and  died  No 
vember  1 4th,  1832.  In  1775  he  was  chosen  a  member  of 
the  first  committee  of  observation  that  was  established  at 
Annapolis,  and  was  elected  a  delegate  in  the  national  conven 
tion.  In  February,  1776,  he  was  appointed  a  commissioner 
to  proceed  to  Canada,  in  company  with  Dr.  Franklin  and 
Judge  Chase.  July  4th,  1776,  he  was  appointed  a  delegate 
to  congress,  and  subsequently  was  placed  in  the  board  of  war. 
In  1776  he  assisted  in  drafting  the  constitution  of  Maryland, 
and  later,  was  chosen  to  the  senate  under  the  constitution  of 
that  state.  He  was  re-appointed  a  delegate  to  congress  in 
1777;  in  1781  and  1786  was  re-elected  to  the  Maryland 
senate;  in  1788  was  a  senator  of  the  United  States;  in  1797 
was  again  elected  to  the  senate  of  Maryland,  and  in  1799 
was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  to  settle  the 
boundary  line  between  Virginia  and  Maryland. 


DD 


ii4  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

VIRGINIA. 

GEORGE  WYTHE  was  born  in  Elizabeth  City  county, 
Virginia,  in  1726,  and  died  in  Richmond,  June  8th,  1806. 
After  his  election  to  the  Virginia  house  of  burgesses,  he  was 
appointed  in  1764,  on  the  committee  organized  to  remon 
strate  against  the  proposed  Stamp  Act.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  house  of  burgesses  of  1768  and  1769,  and  in 
August  1775  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress.  In 
1777  he  was  chosen  a  judge  of  the  high  court  of  chancery, 
and  later,  sole  chancellor.  He  was  professor  of  law  in 
William  and  Mary  College.  He  died  suddenly  from  the 
effects  of  poison  accidentally  taken  with  his  food. 

RICHARD  HENRY  LEE  was  born  at  Stratford,  West 
moreland  county,  Virginia,  January  2Oth,  1732,  and  died  at 
Chantilly,  Virginia,  June  igth,  1794.  After  acquiring  a 
classical  education  in  England,  he  returned  to  Virginia,  and 
in  his  twenty-fifth  year  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace. 
Subsequently  he  became  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses 
from  Westmoreland,  and  eventually  one  of  the  delegates 
from  Virginia  to  the  first  congress,  which  met  at  Philadel 
phia,  September  5th,  1774.  In  1775  he  was  elected  a  delegate 
from  Westmoreland  to  the  Richmond  convention.  From  the 
date  of  his  entrance  into  congress  until  the  middle  of  the 
year  1777,  he  served  upon  about  one  hundred  committees, 
and  generally  occupied  the  position  of  chairman.  He  also 
served  actively  in  congress  from  1778  to  1780,  and  later 
became  county  lieutenant  of  Westmoreland.  In  1784  he 
resumed  his  seat  in  congress,  and  was  elected  its  president. 
In  1786  and  1787  he  sat  in  the  assembly,  and,  under  the 


LIISES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  115 

new  federal  constitution,  \vas  chosen  one  of  the  first  two  sen 
ators   for  Virginia.     In    1792    he    retired   from   public   service. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  was  born  at  Shadwell,  Albe- 
marle  county,  Virginia,  April  2(1,  1743,  and  died  at  Monticello, 
July  4th,  1826.  In  1767  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law. 
and  in  1769  was  chosen  to  represent  his  county  in  the  house 
of  burgesses.  Of  the  second  Virginia  convention,  in  1775, 
he  was  a  delegate  from  Albemarle  county,  and  in  October, 
1776,  after  his  arduous  labors  during  the  interim,  took  his 
seat  in  the  Virginia  house.  In  1785  congress  appointed  him 
minister  plenipotentiary  to  France,  and  subsequently  he- 
accepted  the  post  of  secretary  of  state  in  Washington's 
cabinet.  In  the  spring  of  1792  he  drew  up  the  notable  and 
elaborate  report  upon  the  relations  of  the  United  States 
with  Spain,  and,  December  sist,  1793,  resigned  his  place  in 
the  cabinet.  In  February,  1797,  he  was  elected  Vice- Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States;  and  March  4th,  took  the  chair  as 
president  of  the  senate.  March  4th,  1801,  he  took  his  seat 
at  Washington  as  President  of  the  United  States,  and  in 
March  1809,  retired  finally  from  public  life. 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON  was  born  in  Berkely,  Charles 
City  county,  Virginia,  about  1740,  and  died  in  April,  1791. 
In  1764  he  became  a  member  of  the  Virginia  house  of 
burgesses,  and  participated  in  the  proceedings  of  the  first 
Continental  Congress  as  delegate  from  his  state.  He  was 
subsequently  re-elected  to  the  house  of  burgesses,  over 
whose  proceedings  he  presided  till  1782,  when  he  was 
chosen  governor  of  the  commonwealth.  In  1785,  after  hav- 


ii6  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

ing  been  twice  re-elected  governor,  he  returned  to  private 
life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  state  convention  organized 
in  1788  to  ratify  the  federal  constitution,  and  a  member,  also 
of  the  state  legislature. 

THOMAS  NELSON,  Jr.,  was  born  in  York  county, 
Virginia,  December  26th,  1738,  and  died  there  January 
4th,  1789.  Even  before  attaining  his  majority,  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Virginia  house  of  burgesses.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  first  convention  which  met  at  Williamsburg 
in  August,  1774,  and  in  1775  of  the  provincial  convention. 
He  was  a  conspicuous  mover  in  the  Williamsburg  conven 
tion  of  May,  1776,  and  as  a  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  attracted  much  notice.  In  May,  1777,  he  resigned 
his  seat  in  the  latter  body,  and  was  subsequently  appointed 
commander-in-chief  of  the  state  forces.  In  February,  1779, 
he  again  took  his  seat  temporarily  in  congress,  and  in  June, 
1781,  was  chosen  governor  of  the  commonwealth.  As  com 
mander  of  the  Virginia  militia,  he  participated  in  the  siege 
of  Yorktown. 

FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT  LEE  was  born  at  Stratford, 
Westmoreland  county,  Virginia,  October  i4th,  1734,  and  died 
in  Richmond,  in  1797.  In  1765  he  took  his  seat  in  the  house 
of  burgesses,  as  member  from  Loudun  county,  acting  in  that 
capacity  till  1772.  In  August,  1775,  he  was  chosen  a  del 
egate  to  the  general  congress,  and  re-elected  successively  in 
1776,  1777,  and  1778. 

CARTER  BRAXTON  was  born  at  Newington,  King 
and  Queen  county,  Virginia,  September  loth,  1736,  and 


LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  117 

died  October  loth,  1797.  In  1765  he  participated  actively 
in  the  session  of  the  house  of  burgesses  of  Virginia,  in 
which  the  resolutions  of  Patrick  Henry  were  adopted.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  later  popular  conventions,  and, 
December  i5th,  1775,  was  elected  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress.  Later,  he  served  in  the  legislature  of  Virginia 
till  1786,  when  he  became  one  of  the  executive  council. 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

WILLIAM  HOOPER  was  born  in  Boston,  Massachu 
setts,  June  1 7th,  1742,  and  died  in  Hillsborough,  North 
Carolina,  in  October,  1790.  After  graduating  at  Harvard 
College  in  1760,  he  studied  law  with  James  Otis  in  Boston, 
and  in  1767  removed  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina.  In 
1775  he  was  delegated  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  till 
his  demise  was  a  leader  in  the  councils  of  North  Carolina. 

JOSEPH  HEWES  was  born  in  Kingston,  New  Jersey, 
in  1730,  and  died  in  Philadelphia,  November  loth,  1779. 
He  was  educated  at  Princeton  College,  and  afterward  en 
gaged  in  business  in  Philadelphia.  Removing  to  North  Car 
olina  about  1760,  he  settled  in  Edenton.  In  1774  he  was 
sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 
During  the  sessions  of  1775  and  1776,  he  served  on  many 
important  committees;  he  declined  a  re-election  in  1777, 
but  consented  to  resume  his  seat  in  July,  1779. 

JOHN   PENN    was    born    in    Caroline    county,   Virginia, 

May  1 7th,   1741,  and    died    in   September,    1788.     September 
EE 


n8  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

8th,  1775,  he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  first  congress, 
and  on  the  twelfth  of  the  following  October,  took  his  seat 
as  the  representative  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  succes 
sively  re-elected  in  the  years  1777,  1778,  and  1779. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

EDWARD  RUTLEDGE  was  born  in  Charleston,  Novem 
ber  23d,  1749,  and  died  January  23d,  1800.  He  commenced 
the  practice  of  law  in  Charleston  in  1773,  in  1774  sat  in 
congress,  and  in  June,  1776,  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
first  board  of  war.  In  1779  he  was  again  appointed  to  con 
gress,  and  during  the  siege  of  Charleston,  1780,  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  detained  for  eleven  months  at  St.  Augustine. 
In  1782  Jie  was  a  member  of  the  general  assembly  at  Jackson- 
borough,  and  in  the  legislature  of  1791,  drew  up  the  act  for 
the  abolition  of  the  rights  of  primogeniture.  In  1798  he 
was  elected  governor  of  the  state,  but  died  before  the  expi 
ration  of  his  term. 

• 

THOMAS  HEYWARD,  Jr.,  was  born  in  South  Car 
olina  in  1746,  and  died  in  March,  1809.  Returning  from 
lEurope  upon  the  completion  of  his  legal  studies,  he  was,  in 
1775,  selected  to  supply  a  vacancy  in  the  congress  then  in 
session.  In  1778  he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  criminal 
and  civil  courts  of  the  new  government,  holding  in  the 
meanwhile  a  commission  in  the  militia.  Upon  the  fall  of 
Charleston,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  sent  to  St.  Augus 
tine;  but  on  his  return  to  Carolina,  resumed  the  labors  of 
the  bench,  and  continued  to  act  as  judge  until  1798. 

THOMAS    LYNCH,   Jr.,     was    born    in   Prince    George's 


LIJ/ES  OF  THE  SIGNERS.  119 

parish,  South  Carolina,  August  5th,  1749,  and  perished  at 
sea  in  the  latter  part  of  1779.  After  completing  his  legal 
studies  in  the  Temple,  London,  he  returned  to  South  Car 
olina  in  1772,  and  in  1775  was  appointed  a  captain  in  the 
provincial  regulars  of  his  state.  In  1776  he  took  his  seat 
as  a  member  of  congress.  In  the  fall  of  1779,  he  sailed 
for  St.  Eustatius,  and,  as  it  seems  probable,  was  drowned  in 
a  violent  storm. 

ARTHUR  MIDDLETON  was  born  at  Middleton  Place, 
on  the  Ashley  river,  South  Carolina,  in  1743,  and  died  Jan 
uary  ist,  1787.  Upon  securing  his  degree  at  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  he  returned  to  America,  and  later  became 
prominent  as  a  leader  of  the  Revolutionary  party  in  South 
Carolina.  He  was  an  able  member  of  the  first  council  of 
safety,  and  in  1776  was  sent  as  a  delegate  of  the  state  to 
congress.  He  filled  that  office  until  1777,  and  in  1779  took 
the  field  for  the  defence  of  Charleston.  Again,  until  the 
close  of  the  war  he  served  as  a  delegate  in  congress,  and 
afterward  was  elected  to  the  state  senate.  His  political 
essays,  under  the  signature  of  "Andrew  Marvell,"  are 
masterly  and  pointed. 

GEORGIA. 

BUTTON  GWINNETT  was  born  in  England,  about 
1732,  and  died  in  Georgia,  May  27th,  1777.  In  1770  he 
emigrated  from  Bristol  to  America,  and  in  1775  became 
prominently  identified  with  the  colonial  interests.  In  Feb 
ruary,  1776  he  was  elected  a  representative  to  congress, 
was  re-elected  for  the  following  year,  and  in  1777  became 


120  LI  FES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

president  of  the  provincial  council.  In  the  duel  between 
him  and  General  Mclntosh,  in  the  same  year,  he  was  mor 
tally  wounded. 

LYMAN  HALL  was  born  in  Connecticut  about  1731, 
and  died  in  Burke  county,  Georgia,  in  February,  1791.  After 
graduating  at  Yale  College  in  1747,  he  studied  medicine, 
and  in  1752  removed  to  South  Carolina,  and,  in  the  same 
year,  to  Sunbury,  Georgia.  In  1775  he  was  chosen  a  mem 
ber  of  congress,  and  was  annually  re-elected  till  1780.  In 
1783  he  was  elected  governor,  and  retired  from  public  life 
after  holding  this  office  for  one  term. 

GEORGE  WALTON  was  born  in  Frederick  county,  Vir 
ginia,  about  1740,  and  died  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  February 
2d,  1804.  In  1774  he  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in 
Georgia,  and  in  July  of  that  year  identified  himself  with  a 
public  meeting  at  Savannah,  convened  to  resist  the  arbitrary 
proceedings  of  the  mother  country.  In  February,  1776,  he 
was  appointed  a  delegate  to  congress,  and  re-elected  in  the 
following  October,  also  in  January,  1777,  February,  1778, 
and  May,  1780.  In  December,  1778,  he  was  commissioned 
a  colonel  in  the  militia,  and  in  October,  1779,  was  appointed 
governor  of  the  state.  In  1787  he  was  appointed  a  delegate 
for  framing  the  Federal  Constitution,  but  declined.  He  was 
afterward  re-elected  governor,  was  four  times  a  judge  of  the 
courts  of  Georgia,  and  in  1795  succeeded  General  James 
Jackson  as  senator  in  congress. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


PROCEEDINGS    IN    THE    CONGRESS     OF    THE     UNITED     COLONIES 

RESPECTING    "A    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE    BY 

THE    REPRESENTATIVES   OF    THE    UNITED     STATES 

OF   AMERICA    IN    CONGRESS   ASSEMBLED." 

SATURDAY,  June  8th,   1776. 

Resolved,  That  the  resolutions  respecting  independency 
be  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  congress. 

The  congress  then  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of 
the  whole,  and  after  some  time,  the  president  resumed  the 
chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported,  that  the  committee  have 
taken  into  consideration  the  matter'  to  them  referred,  but 
not  having  come  to  any  resolution  thereon,  directed  him  to 
move  for  leave  to  sit  again  on  Monday. 

Resolved,  That  this  congress  will,  on  Monday  next,  at 
10  o'clock,  resolve  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to 
take  into  further  consideration  the  resolution  referred  to  them. 

MONDAY,  June   loth,   1776. 

Agreeable  to  order,  the  congress  resolved  itself  into  a 
committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their  further  consid 
eration  the  resolutions  to  them  referred;  and,  after  some 
time  spent  thereon,  the  president  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr. 
Harrison  reported  that  the  committee  have  had  under  con 
sideration  the  matters  referred  to  them,  and  have  come  to 
a  resolution  thereon,  which  they  directed  him  to  report. 


121 


122  THE   DECLARATION    OF 

The  resolution  agreed  to  in  committee  of  the  whole  being 
read — 

Resolved,  That  the  consideration  of  the  first  resolution 
be  postponed  to  Monday,  the  first  day  of  July  next,  and  in 
the  meanwhile,  that  no  time  be  lost  in  case  the  congress 
agree  thereto,  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a 
declaration  to  the  effect  of  the  said  first  resolution,  which  is 
in  these  words : 

"That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  free  and  independent  States;  that  they  are  absolved  from 
all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political 
connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain  is, 
and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved. 

TUESDAY,  June  nth,  1776. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  for  preparing  the  declara- 
ration  consist  of  five.  The  members  chosen,  Mr.  Jefferson, 
Mr.  John  Adams,  Mr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Sherman,  and  Mr.  R. 
R.  Livingston. 

TUESDAY,  June  25th,  1776. 

A  declaration  of  the  deputies  of  Pennsylvania,  met  in 
provincial  conference,  was  laid  before  congress  and  read, 
expressing  their  willingness  to  concur  in  a  vote  of  congress, 
declaring  the  United  Colonies  free  and  independent  States. 

FRIDAY,  June  28th,   1776. 

"Francis  Hopkinson,  one  of  the  delegates  from  New 
Jersey,  attended  and  produced  the  credentials  of  their  ap 
pointment,"  containing  the  following  instructions  :— 

"If  you    shall  judge  it  necessary    or    expedient   for    this 


INDEPENDENCE   IN    CONGRESS.  123 

purpose,  we  empower  you  to  join  in  declaring  the  United 
Colonies  independent  of  Great  Britain,  entering  into  a  con 
federation  for  union  and  common  defence,"  etc. 

MONDAY,  July  ist,  1776. 

"A  resolution  of  the  convention  of  Maryland,  passed 
the  28th  of  June,  was  laid  before  congress,  and  read,"  con 
taining  the  following  instructions  to  their  deputies  in 
congress  :— 

"That  the  deputies  of  said  colony,  or  any  three  or  more 
of  them,  be  empowered  to  concur  with  the  other  United 
Colonies,  or  a  majority  of  them,  in  declaring  the  United 
Colonies  free  and  independent  States,  in  forming  such  fur 
ther  compact  and  confederation  between  them,"  etc. 

The  order  of  the  day  being  read:— 

Resolved,  That  this  congress  will  resolve  itself  into  a 
committee  of  the  whole  to  take  into  consideration  the  res 
olution  respecting  independency. 

That  the   Declaration  be  referred  to  said  committee. 

The  congress  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the 
whole.  After  some  time  the  President  resumed  the  chair, 
and  Mr.  Harrison  reported  that  the  committee  had  come  to 
a  resolution,  which  they  desired  him  to  report,  and  to  move 
for  leave  to  sit  again. 

The  resolution  agreed  to  by  the  committee  of  the  whole 
being  read,  the  determination  thereof  was,  at  the  request 
of  a  colony,  postponed  until  to-morrow. 

Resolved,  That  this  congress  will,  to-morrow,  resolve 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  consider 
ation  the  Declaration  respecting  independence. 


124  THE    DECLARATION    OF 

TUESDAY,  July  2d,  1776. 

The  congress  resumed  the  consideration  of  the  resolu 
tion  reported  from  the  committee  of  the  whole,  which  was 
agreed  to  as  follows:— 

RESOLVED,  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  Free  and  Independent  States;  that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that 
all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great 
Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved. 

Agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  congress  resolved 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole;  and,  after  some  time, 
the  President  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported, 
that  the  committee  have  had  under  consideration  the  Dec 
laration  to  them  referred;  but  not  having  had  time  to  go 
through  the  same,  desired  him  to  move  for  leave  to  sit  again. 

Resolved,  That  this  congress  will,  to-morrow,  again  re 
solve  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their 
further  consideration  the  Declaration  respecting  independence. 

WEDNESDAY,  July  3d,  1776. 

Agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  congress  resolved 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their  further 
consideration  the  Declaration ;  and  after  some  time,  the  Pres 
ident  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported  that  the 
committee,  not  yet  having  gone  through  it,  desired  leave  to 
sit  again. 

Resolved,  That  this  congress  will,  to-morrow,  again  re 
solve  itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their 
further  consideration  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


INDEPENDENCE  IN  CONGRESS.  125 

THURSDAY,  July  4th,   1776. 

Agreeable  to  the  order  of  the  day,  the  congress  resolved 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  to  take  into  their  fur 
ther  consideration  the  Declaration;  and  after  some  time,  the 
President  resumed  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Harrison  reported, 
that  the  committee  had  agreed  to  a  declaration,  which  they 
desired  him  to  report. 

The   Declaration  being    read,  was  agreed  to  as  follows:— 

DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE,  JULY   4,  1776. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  neces- 
ary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have 
connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume,  among  the 
powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal  station,  to  which 
the  laws  of  nature,  and  of  Nature's  God  entitle  them,  a 
decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that 
they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the 
separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident — that  all  men 
are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator 
with  certain  inalienable  rights;  that  among  these  are  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That,  to  secure  these 
rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed;  that,  when 
ever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destructive  of  these 
ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  abolish  it,  and 
to  institute  a  new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on  such 
principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to 
them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happi 
ness.  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long 

GG 


126  THE    DECLARATION    OF 

established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient 
causes;  and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that 
mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  suf- 
ferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms 
to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of 
abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object, 
evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism, 
it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  govern 
ment,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security. 
Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies, 
and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to 
alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The  history  of 
the  present  king  of  Great  Britain,  is  a  history  of  repeated 
injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct  object  the 
establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states.  To 
prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 
and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  imme 
diate  and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their 
operations  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;  and,  when 
so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommoda 
tion  of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would 
relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  Legislature — 
a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places 
unusual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  repository  of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them 
into  compliance  with  his  measures. 


INDEPENDENCE   IN    CONGRESS.  127 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for 
opposing,  with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights 
of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions, 
to  cause  others  to  be  elected,  whereby  the  legislative  powers, 
incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at 
large  for  their  exercise;  the  State  remaining,  in  the  mean 
time,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasions  from  without, 
and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these 
States;  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  the  natur 
alization  of  foreigners;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage 
their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by 
refusing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for 
the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of 
their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent 
hither  swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out 
their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  time  of  peace,  standing 
armies,  without  the  consent  of  our  Legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of, 
and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  juris 
diction  foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by 
our  laws;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  legis 
lation  : 


128  THE    DECLARATION    OF 

For  quartering  large  bodies   of  armed   troops  among   us; 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment 
for  any  murder  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants 
of  these  States; 

For  cutting   off  our   trade  with   all    parts   of   the  world; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our   consent; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefit  of  trial 
by  jury; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pre 
tended  offences ; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a 
neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  gov 
ernment,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at 
once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the 
same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valu 
able  laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our 
governments; 

For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  declaring 
themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all 
cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out 
of  his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned 
our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries,  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and 
tyranny,  already  begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and 
perfidy,  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages, 
and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 


INDEPENDENCE  IN  CONGRESS.  129 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on 
the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become 
the  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall 
themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrection  among  us,  and  has 
endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers, 
the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  war 
fare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes, 
and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned 
for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms;  our  repeated  peti 
tions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A  prince 
whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may 
define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  our  attentions  to  our 
British  brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to 
time,  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwar 
rantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of 
the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here. 
We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity, 
and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties  of  our  common 
kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably 
interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too, 
have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consan 
guinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity 
which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them  as  we  hold 
the  rest  of  mankind — enemies  in  war — in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the    representatives    of  the    United    States 
of    America,   in    general    Congress    assembled,    appealing    to 
the    Supreme  Judge    of  the   world    for   the    rectitude    of  our 
HH 


130  THE   DECLARATION    OF 

intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good 
people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare  that 
these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be  free 
and  independent  States;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  con 
nection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain,  is, 
and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved,  and  that,  as  free  and 
independent  States,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war,  con 
clude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do 
all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  States  may  of 
right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a 
firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we 
mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and 
our  sacred  honor. 

Among  the  signers  of  the  Declaration,  were  men  engaged 
in  almost  every  vocation.  There  were  twenty-four  LAWYERS; 
fourteen  FARMERS,  or  men  devoted  chiefly  to  agriculture; 
nine  MERCHANTS;  four  PHYSICIANS;  one  Gospel  MINISTER, 
and  three  who  were  educated  for  that  profession,  but  chose 
other  avocations;  and  one  MANUFACTURER.  A  large  por 
tion  lived  to  the  age  of  three  score  and  ten  years.  Three 
of  them  were  over  90  years  of  age  when  they  died;  ten 
over  80;  eleven  over  70;  fourteen  over  60;  eleven  over  50; 
and  six  over  44.  Mr.  Lynch  (lost  at  sea)  was  only  30.  " 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  Conti 
nental  Congress,  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  with  the  places  and  dates  of  their  birth,  and  the 
time  of  their  respective  deaths. 


INDEPENDENCE  IN  CONGRESS. 


NAMES  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

BORN  AT 

DELEGATE  FROM 

DIED. 

Braintree,  Mass.,            igth  Oct., 
Boston,          "                 22d    Sept.. 
Amesbury,     "                    in    Nov., 
Newington,  Virginia,     loth    Sept., 
Annapolis,  Md.,             2oth    Sept., 
Somerset  Co.,  Md.,        I7th    April, 

'735. 
1722, 

"729, 
'73°. 
"737. 
i74i, 
1726, 

"739, 
1727, 
'734, 
1706, 

'744, 
'732. 
I73i. 
'737, 

1715, 
1746, 
"73°. 
1742, 
i707, 
'737, 
i732. 
1743, 
'734, 
'732. 

I7'3- 
1716, 

1749. 
'734, 
'743, 
1726, 

'733, 

1724, 
1738, 
1740, 

1731- 
'74', 
'734, 
173°, 
173°, 
'745. 
'749. 
1721, 

Massachusetts.... 
Massachusetts.... 
New  Hampshire 
Virginia  
Maryland  
Maryland  

4th  July,    1826 
2d   Oct.,    1803 
igth  May,    1795 
loth  Oct.,    1797 
I4th  Nov.    1832 
igth  June,    181  1 
June,   1794 
24th  Jan.,     1813 
I5th  Feb.,    1820 
4th  Aug.,   1821 
I7th  April,  1790 
23d     Nov  ,  1814 
27th  May,    1777 
Feb.     1  790 

Bartlett,  Josiah  

Carroll,  Charles  of  Carrolton. 
Chase,  Samuel  

Elizabcthtown,  N.  J.,     I5th    Feb., 
Philadelphia,  Penn.,                    in 
Newport  R.  I.,               22d     Dec., 
Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y.,         i?th   Dec., 
Boston,  Mass.,                 lyth   Jan., 
Marblehead,  Mass.,        lyth   July, 
England,                                        in 
Connecticut,                                  in 
Braintree,  Mass.,                          in 
Berkeley,  Virginia, 
Hopewell,  N.  J.,                        about 
St.  Luke's,  S.  C.,                        in 
Kingston,  N.  J.,                          in 
Boston,  Mass.,                 lyth   June, 
Scituate,     "                        ?th    March, 
Philadelphia  Penn.,                    in 
Windham,  Conn.,            3d   July, 
Shadwell,  Virginia,        ijth    April, 
Stratford,          "              I4th    Oct., 
Stratford,           ''              2Oth    Jan., 
Landaff,  Wales,                 in    March, 
Albany,  N.  Y.,                I5th   Jan., 

Pennsylvania  
Rhode  Island*.. 
New  York..  
Pennsylvania  
Massachusetts.... 

Ellery,  William  
Floyd,  William  

Gerry,  Elbndge.  .          

Georgia  
Massachusetts.... 
Virginia  

Hancock,  John  

8th  Oct.,    1793 
—  April,  1791 
—  1780 
March,  1809 
loth  Nov.,  1779 
Oct.,    1790 

Hart,  John  

New  Jersey  
South  Carolina- 
North  Carolina.. 
North  Carolina.. 
Rhode  Island*.. 
New  Jersey  
Connecticut  
Virginia  

Heyward,  Thomas,  Jr  
Hewes,  Joseph  

Hopkins,  Stephen  
Hopkinson,  Francis  

igth  July,    1785 
gth  May,    1790 
5th  Jan.,    1796 
4th  July,    1826 
-April,  1797 
igth  June,    I7g4 
301  h  Dec.,    1803 
I2th  June,   1778 
Lost  at  sea,  I77g 
24th  June,    1817 
1st  Jan.,     1787 
22d    Jan.,    1798 
8th  May,    1806 
—  April,  1777 
4th  Jan.,    1789 
—  '799 

Lee,  Francis  Lightfoot.    .. 

Virginia  

New  York  

New  York  

Lynch,  Thomas,  Jr  

St.  George's,  S.  C.,          5th   Aug., 
Chester  Co  ,  Penn.,        1  9th    March, 

South  Carolina... 
Delaware  

Middleton,  Arthur  

Middleton  Place,  S.  C.,             in 
Morrisania,  N.  Y.,                     in 
Lancashire,  England,             Jan., 
Ridley,  Penn.,                            in 
York,  Virginia,               26th    Dec., 
Wye-Hill,  Md.,              3ist  Oct., 
Boston,  Mass.,                            in 
Caroline  Co.  ,Vireinia,  lyth   May, 
Cecil  Co.,  Md.,                           in 
Dover,  Delaware,                       in 
New  Castle,  Delaware,              in 
Byberry,  Penn.,               24th    Dec., 
Charleston,  S.  C.,                 in  Nov., 
Newton,  Mass.,               igth    April, 
Ireland, 
Princeton,  N.  J.,               1st    Oct., 
Charles  Co.,  Md.,                       in 
Ireland,                                          in 
Ireland,                                       in 
Frederick  Co.,  Virginia,            in 
Kittery,  Maine,                           in 
Lebanon,  Conn.,              8th    April, 
Scotland,                                      about 
Yester,  Scotland,             5th    Feb., 
Windsor,  Conn.,             26th    Nov., 
Elizabeth  City  Co.,  Va., 

South  Carolina... 
New  York  

Morris,  Robert  

Pennsylvania  
Pennsylvania  
Virginia  

Morton,  John..  .. 

Paca  William 

Paine,  Robert  Treat 

Massachusetts.... 
North  Carolina- 

nth  May,    1814 
Sept.,  1788 
1798 

Penn,  John  

1783 

Pennsylvania.... 
Pennsylvania.... 
South  Carolina.. 
Connecticut  
Pennsylvania.... 
New  Jersey  

Julv,    1789 

Rush,  Benjamin,  M.  D  
Rutledge,  Edward  

igth  April,  1813 
23d  Tan.,     1800 
23d  July,     I?g3 
nth  Julv,     1806 
28th  Feb.,    1781 
$th  Oct.,     1787 
23d  Feb.,    1781 
24th  June,    1803 
2d  Feb.,    1804 
28th  Nov.,  1785 
2d  Aug.,    1811 
28th  Aug.,  I?g8 
I5th  Nov.,  1794 
\     1st  Dec.,    1797 
1    8th  June,   1806 

Sherman,  Roger  

Stockton,  Richard  
Stone,  Thomas  
Taylor,  George  

'73°. 

1742, 
1716, 

1714, 

1740, 

'73°. 
'73', 
i"42, 
1722, 
1726, 
1726, 

Pennsylvania.  ... 
New  Hampshire 
Georgia  

New  Hampshire 
Connecticut  
Pennsylvania  
New  Jersey  
Connecticut  
Virginia  

Williams,  William  

Wilson,  James  

Wolcott,  Oliver  

y    . 

*  Formerly  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations. 


1 32  THE  DECLARATION, 

WHERE  WAS  THE 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  WRITTEN?' 


For  many  years  the  old  brick  building  at  the  south 
west  corner  of  Seventh  and  Market  streets,2  in  Philadelphia, 
has  been  pointed  out  to  the  stranger  and  native  alike,  as 
the  place  where  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  author  of  the  Decla 
ration  of  Independence,  wrote  the  first  draft  of  the  immortal 
document  which  was  the  original  framework  of  our  liberties 
and  the  announcement  of  our  claim  to  a  position  in  the 
sisterhood  of  nations.  A  large  sign  bearing  a  portrait  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  seated  at  a  desk  and  perusing  a  book, 
decorated  for  a  long  time  the  space  betvven  the  fourth  story 
windows  of  the  Market  street  front,  and  there  was  an 
accompanying  inscription  in  large  black  letters  designating 
the  building  as  "The  Birthplace  of  Liberty." 

In  support  of  this  theory,  Watson,  in  his  "Annals  of 
Philadelphia,"  (edition  of  1850,  Vol.  II.,  page  309),  tells 
us,  in  his  quaint  style,  that  "  the  place  of  writing  the  Dec 
laration  has  been  differently  stated.  Some  have  said  that 
it  was  at  Jefferson's  chamber,  in  the  Indian  Queen  Inn;  but 
Mrs  Clymer,  with  whom  Mr.  Jefferson  boarded,  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  Seventh  and  High  (now  Market) 
streets,  said  it  was  there,  and  to  settle  this  point,  Dr.  Mease 
wrote  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  had  it  confirmed  as  at  her  house." 

1  Potter's   Monthly  Magazine  for  January,  1874. 

2  See  view  of  the  house,  page  261. 


WHERE   WRITTEN.  133 

In  the  first  volume  of  his  "Annals"  on  page  470, 
Watson  touches  upon  the  same  mooted  question,  in  the 
following  terms:— 

"In  the  Indian  Queen  Tavern,  South  Fourth  street,  in 
the  second  story,  front  room,  south  end,  Jefferson  had  his 
desk  and  room  where  he  wrote  and  studied,  and  from  that 
cause  it  has  been  a  popular  opinion  that  he  there  wrote  his 
'Declaration  of  Independence.'  I  have  seen  the  place  of 
the  desk,  by  the  side  of  the  fire-place,  west  side,  as  pointed 
out  by  Caesar  Rodney's  son.  But  my  friend,  Mr.  McAllister, 
told  me  in  1833,  that  he  was  told  by  the  step-mother  of  the 
present  Hon.  John  Sergeant,  that  Dr.  Mease  had  inquired 
of  Jefferson  himself,  by  letter,  and  that  he  was  informed 
by  him  that  when  he  wrote  that  instrument  he  lived  in  a 
large  new  house  belonging  to  the  Hiltzheimer  family,  up 
Market  street,  at  the  south-west  corner  of  some  crossing 
street.  Mrs.  Sergeant  said  there  was  no  doubt  that  it  was 
the  same  since  so  well  known  as  Gratz's  store,  at  the  south 
west  corner  of  Seventh  and  High  streets." 

Mr.  Jefferson  used  to  relate,  with  much  merriment,  that 
the  final  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
hastened  by  an  absurdly  trivial  cause.  Near  the  hall  in 
which  the  debates  were  then  held  there  was  a  livery  stable, 
from  which  swarms  of  flies  came  into  the  open  windows, 
and  assailed  the  silk-stockinged  legs  of  honorable  members. 
Handkerchief  in  hand  they  lashed  the  flies  with  such  vigor 
as  they  could  command  on  a  July  afternoon,  but  the 
annoyance  became  at  length  so  extreme  as  to  render 
them  impatient  of  delay,  and.  they  made  haste  to  bring 

the  momentous  business  to  a  conclusion, 
ii 


i34  THE   DECLARATION, 

The  "Indian  Queen  Tavern,"  which  in  early  days  con 
tended  for  the  honor  of  having  been  the  place  where  the 
Declaration  was  written,  was  situated  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  Fourth  and  Market  streets.  Graydon  refers  to 
the  building,  and  states  that  in  1760  it  was  kept  by  the 
Widow  Nicholls. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  "Life  of  Daniel  Webster,"  by 
George  Ticknor  Curtis,  we  find  some  interesting  passages 
which  revive  the  old  dispute  about  the  precise  spot  on 
which  Jefferson  wrote  the  American  Magna  Charta,  and 
which  tend  to  leave  the  question  in  even  greater  doubt  than 
before.  In  the  autumn  of  1824,  Daniel  Webster  started  on 
a  journey  to  Thomas  Jefferson  at  Monticello,  in  company 
with  George  Ticknor,  one  of  his  most  intimate  personal 
friends,  who  had  been  invited  by  Mr.  Jefferson  to  assist 
him  in  regulating  the  course  of  studies  at  the  University  of 
Virginia.  The  party  left  Washington  on  the  Qth  of  Decem 
ber.  The  roads  were  in  a  terrible  state,  and  the  journey 
was  exceedingly  tedious,  both  going  and  returning.  On 
the  return,  when  the  party  were  stopping  over  night  at  a 
small  inn  by  the  way,  Mr.  Webster  and  Mr.  Ticknor  beguiled 
the  time  by  dictating  to  Mrs.  Ticknor,  who  acted  as  amanu 
ensis,  the  conversations  had  by  them  with  Jefferson  during 
the  four  or  five  days  passed  at  Monticello.  The  accuracy 
of  the  report  of  Jefferson's  sayings  on  this  occasion,  which 
was  first  given  to  the  public  by  Fletcher  Webster,  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  father's  correspondence,  published  in 
1857,  nas  been  questioned  on  some  points  by  Jefferson's 
biographer;  but  Mr.  Curtis  puts  forth  a  strong  argument  in 
its  support,  citing  the  fact  that  it  was  carefully  prepared  a 


WHERE  WRITTEN.  135 

few  hours  after  the  departure  of  the  party  from  Monticello, 
as  a  private  record  of  the  visit,  but  doubtless  with  a  view 
of  its  being  at  some  future  time  given  to  the  public. 

We  have  thus  detailed  at  length  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  paragraph  given  below  was  written,  in  order  to 
give  it  its  full  weight  as  tending  to  settle,  although  in  an 
unsatisfactory  manner,  a  question  which  is  not  only  of  local 
importance,  but  of  general  interest.  Among  the  memo 
randa  of  Jefferson's  conversation,  as  written  down  by  Mrs. 
Ticknor,  are  the  following  words,  spoken  by  Jefferson  in 
direct  response  to  a  question  by  Webster: 

"The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  written  in  a 
house  on  the  north  side  of  Chestnut  street,  between  Third 
and  Fourth, — not  a  corner  house.  Heiskell's  Tavern,  in 
Fourth  street  has  been  shown  for  it  (to  Mr.  Webster) ;  but 
this  is  not  the  house." 

In  asserting  that  the  place  was  not  a  corner  house,  Jef 
ferson  at  one  word  disposed  of  the  claims  of  the  only  two 
buildings  which  have  generally  been  credited  with  the  dis 
puted  honor,  the  Indian  Queen  Inn  and  the  house  at 
Seventh  and  Market  streets.  By  Heiskell's  Tavern  he 
probably  referred  to  the  first  named,  which,  as  stated  by 
Watson,  was  at  one  time  popularly  supposed  to  have 
been  the  place.  But  while  the  exact  location  still  remains 
a  mystery,  and  will  doubtless  so  remain  for  all  time  to 
come,  we  are  able  to  get  near  the  true  site,  and  especially 
to  dispose  of  the  rival  claims  of  the  two  buildings  to  which 
the  credit  was  formerly  awarded.  Wherever  the  building 
was  located  within  the  limits  described  by  Jefferson,  it  has 
long  since  disappeared,  and  as  such  is  the  case,  perhaps 


136  THE   DECLARATION, 

the  solution  of  the  question  is  as  satisfactory  as  could  be 
desired. 

The  Declaration  was  written  in  the  house  still  standing, 
at  the  south-west  corner  of  Seventh  and  Market  streets. 
In  the  quotation  made  by  your  correspondent  from  "Wat 
son,  Vol.  I,  p.  470,"  reference  is  made  to  Jefferson's  letter 
to  Dr.  Mease,  stating  in  what  house  he  had  written  the 
Declaration.  I  am  glad  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  furnish 
a  copy  of  that  letter,  and  of  thus  proving  that  Mrs.  Sergeant 
was  correct  in  the  information  she  gave  my  father,  and 
which  was  by  him  communicated  to  Mr.  Watson. 

In  the  "Eulogium  on  Thomas  Jefferson,"  delivered  by 
Nicholas  Biddle  before  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
April  nth,  1827,  on  page  14,  speaking  of  Jefferson's  lodg 
ings  in  Philadelphia  in  1776,  Mr.  Biddle  says:  "These 
lodgings — it  will  be  heard  with  pleasure  by  all  who  feel  the 
interest  which  genius  inspires  for  the  minutest  details  of 
its  history — he  had  selected,  with  his  characteristic  love  of 
retirement,  in  a  house  recently  built  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  city,  and  almost  the  last  dwelling-house  to  the  west 
ward,  where,  in  a  small  family,  he  was  the  sole  boarder. 
That  house  is  now  a  warehouse  in  the  centre  of  Phila 
delphia,  standing  at  the  southwestern  corner  of  Market  and 
Seventh  streets,  where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
written." 

In  a  note  at  the  close  of  the  "Eulogium"  (p.  45),  Mr. 
Biddle  says:  "I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Mease 
for  permission  to  transcribe  the  following  letters  on  the 
subject  of  the  house  in  which  the  Declaration  was  written: 


WHERE  WRITTEN.  137 

"MoNTiCELLO,  Sept.   16,   1825. 

"DEAR  SIR: — It  is  not  for  me  to  estimate  the  import 
ance  of  the  circumstances  concerning  which  your  letter 
of  the  8th  makes  inquiry.  They  prove,  even  in  their 
minuteness,  the  sacred  attachments  of  our  fellow-citizens 
to  the  event  of  which  the  paper  of  July  4,  1776,  was  but 
the  Declaration,  the  genuine  effusion  of  the  soul  of  our 
country  at  that  time.  Small  things  may,  perhaps,  like  the 
relics  of  saints,  help  to  nourish  our  devotion  to  this  holy 
bond  of  our  union,  and  keep  it  longer  alive  and  warm  in 
our  affections.  This  effect  may  give  importance  to  cir 
cumstances,  however  small.  At  the  time  of  writing  that 
instrument,  I  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Gratz,  a  new 
brick  house,  three  stories  high,  of  which  I  rented  the  second 
floor,  consisting  of  a  parlor  and  bed-room,  ready  furnished. 
In  that  parlor  I  wrote  habitually,  and  in  it  wrote  this  paper 
particularly. 

"So  far,  I  state  from  written  proofs  in  my  possession. 
The  proprietor,  Gratz,  was  a  young  man,  son  of  a  German, 
and  then  newly  married.  I  think  he  was  a  bricklayer,  and 
that  his  house  was  on  the  south  side  of  Market  street,  prob 
ably  between  Seventh  and  Eighth  streets;  and  if  not  the 
only  house  on  that  part  of  the  street,  I  am  sure  there  were 
fe\v  others  near  it.  I  have  some  idea  that  it  was  a  corner 
house,  but  no  other  recollections  throwing  any  light  on  the 
question,  or  worth  communication.  I  will,  therefore,  only 
add  assurance  of  my  great  respect  and  esteem. 

"Tn.  JEFFERSON. 

"DR.  JAMES  MEASE,  Philadelphia." 

KK 


138 


THE   DECLARATION, 


"MONTICELLO,    Oct.  JO,    l82$. 

"DEAR  SIR: — Your  letter  of  Sept.  8th,  inquiring  after 
the  house  in  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
written,  has  excited  my  curiosity  to  know  whether  my 
recollections  were  such  as  to  enable  you  to  find  out  the 
house.  A  line  on  the  subject  would  oblige,  dear  sir,  yours, 

"Tn.  JEFFERSON. 
"  DR.  MEASE." 

Mr.  Biddle  adds:  "Mr.  Jefferson  was  correct  in  his 
recollections,  and  the  house  is  known  to  be  that  mentioned 
in  the  text." 

Mr.  Hyman  Gratz  sketched  for  my  father  a  plan  of  the 
house  as  it  was  in  1776.  This,  with  some  account  of  the 
property,  which  my  father  had  collected,  and  made  a  note 
of,  he  inserted  in  his  copy  of  Mr.  Biddle's  "  Eulogium."  The 
following  is  a  copy  of  the  sketch  and  the  note : 


SEVENTH    STREET. 


fe 


0 


£ 

w 


A 

s 


h 


tb 

W 


"The  above  shows  the  original  plan  of  the  house  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Market  and  Seventh  streets.  The  two 
rooms  in  the  second  story,  having  the  stairway  between 


WHERE  WRITTEN.  139 

them,  were   occupied   by  Mr.  Jefferson    in    1776.     In   one   of 
these  rooms   he  wrote  the  Declaration   of  Independence. 

"The  corner  house,  and  the  two  adjoining  houses  on 
Market  street,  became  the  property  of  Messrs.  Simon  and 
Hyman  Gratz,  merchants,  about  1798,  and  were  for  many 
years  occupied  by  them  as  their  place  of  business.  They 
added  a  fourth  story  to  the  height.  They  also  closed  up 
the  door  on  Seventh  street,  and  removed  the  stairs.  The 
whole  of  the  second  story  of  the  corner  house  is  now  in 
one  room,  but  the  place  where  the  old  stairway  came  up  can 
be  seen  by  the  alteration  in  the  boards  of  the  floor.  The 
corner  house  was  occupied  in  1776  by  the  father  of  the  late 
Mr.  Frederick  Graff,  who  was  then  an  infant.  He  told  me 
that  he  could  remember  hearing  his  parents  say  that  he  had 
often  sat  on  Mr.  Jefferson's  knee. 

"The  sketch  of  the  original  plan  of  the  house,  from 
which  this  copy  was  made,  was  drawn  for  me  to-day  by 
Mr.  Hyman  Gratz. 

"JOHN  M'ALLISTER,  JR. 
"July  6th,   i855r 

I  have  copied  Jefferson's  letters  from  Mr.  Biddle's  "  Eulo- 
gium"  in  my  father's  possession.  There  is  a  copy  of  the 
"Eulogium"  in  the  Loganian  Library,  No.  1843.  o.  8. 

AGNES  Y.  M'ALLISTER. 

So  much  discussion  having  taken  place  in  relation  to 
the  exact  location  of  the  house  in  which  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  written,  we  give  the  facts  on  both 
sides  of  the  question  in  order  that  the  record  should  be  kept 
entire,  and  afford  all  the  facilities  for  further  discussion. 


1 4o  THE  DECLARATION, 

We  accept,  without  any  hesitation,  the  letter  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  to  Dr.  Mease,  and  think  there  the  discussion 
should  end. 

THE  HOUR  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

A  few  weeks  ago  the  Evening  Post  asked  for  information 
as  to  the  exact  hour  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  adopted.  A  correspondent,  in  answer*  to  the  question, 
refers  to  Richard  Frothingham's  "  Rise  of  the  Republic  of 
the  United  States."  It  appears  from  this  work  that  the  Dec 
laration  was  adopted  in  the  evening.  Congress,  as  is  well 
known,  began  its  direct  consideration  of  the  question  of 
Independence  on  the  ist  day  of  July,  1776,  in  Independ 
ence  Hall,  in  Philadelphia,  by  voting  to  resolve  itself  into 
a  committee  of  the  whole  to  take  into  consideration  the 
resolution  respecting  independence,  and  to  refer  the  draft 
of  the  Declaration  to  this  committee.  Benjamin  Harrison 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  a  debate  followed  which  occu 
pied  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  This  debate  resulted  in 
the  adoption  of  the  resolution.  The  committee  then  rose, 
the  president  resumed  the  chair,  and  Harrison  reported  the 
decision  of  the  committee.  The  vote  on  the  adoption  of 
the  report  was  postponed  until  the  next  morning.  The 
next  day  (the  2d  of  July)  the  report  was  adopted,  and  then 
congress  went  at  once  into  committee  of  the  whole  "  to 
consider  draft  of  a  Declaration  of  Independence,  or  the  form 
of  announcing  the  fact  to  the  world."  This  discussion  lasted 
through  that  day,  and  the  sessions  of  the  3d  and  4th  of 
July.  Frothingham's  account  continues:  "On  the  evening 
of  the  4th,  the  committee  rose,  when  Harrison  reported 


WHERE   WRITTEN.  141 

the  Declaration  as  having  been  agreed  upon.  It  was  then 
adopted.  Congress,  on  the  iQth  of  July,  ordered  that  the 
'  Declaration  passed  on  the  4th,  be  fairly  engrossed,'  etc., 
and  on  the  2d  day  of  August,  according  to  the  same  author 
ity,  the  instrument,  having  been  engrossed,  was  signed." 
This  account  does  not  fix  the  exact  hour,  but  it  eliminates 
daylight  from  the  problem,  and  makes  it  appear  that,  in  a 
certain  sense,  Independence  Day  is  a  misnomer. 

LL 


142 


HISTORY   OF 


HISTORY  OF  INDEPENDENCE  HALL 


Independence  Hall  is  a  shrine  at  which  millions  wor 
ship — the  Mecca  of  heart-felt  homage,  and  the  coming 
cynosure  of  more  millions  of  eyes  in  the  year  that  is  yet 
to  come.  Historically  considered,  Independence  Hall  pre- 


STATE    HOUSE,    PHILADELPHIA,    1776. 


sents  a  myriad  of  interesting  features.  It  is  but  a  small 
part  of  what  was,  until  1776,  known  as  the  State  House — 
being  the  room  on  the  east  side  of  the  main  entrance  to 
the  building.  The  edifice  was  constructed  to  meet  the 
demands  of  the  law  and  the  enactment  of  statutes  for  state 
government.  It  was  commenced  in  the  year  1729,  and 
completed  in  1734.  John  Kearsley,  Sr.,  an  amateur  archi 
tect,  fashioned  the  structure,  which,  at  that  time,  was  regarded 
as  entirely  too  large  and  expensive — the  erection  of  the 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL. 


143 


State  House  being  vehemently  opposed.  The  original 
building  cost  $16,250,  additions  subsequently  swelling  the 
amount  to  $28,000.  Edmund  Wooley  did  the  carpenter 
work,  John  Harrison  the  joiner  work,  and  William  Holland 
the  marble  work.  Thomas  Kerr  was  the  plasterer,  Benja 
min  Fairman  and  James  Stoopes  made  the  bricks,  and  the 
lime  was  furnished  by  the  Tysons,  whose  kilns  were  a  mile 
west  of  Willow  Grove,  in  Montgomery  county,  and  fifteen 
miles  distant  from  Independence  Hall.  The  glass  and  lead 


THE    STATE    HOUSE. 
(Independence    Hall    in    1861.) 

cost  £170,  and  the  glazing  was  done  by  Thomas  Godfrey. 
The  woodwork  of  the  steeple  was  removed  in  1774,  only  a 
small  belfry  covering  the  bell,  the  clock,  with  but  one  dial- 
face,  being  at  the  west  end  of  the  building.  The  present 
steeple,  fashioned  after  the  old  one,  was  erected  in  1829. 
In  1854  City  Councils  resolved  to  restore  "the  Hall"  to  its 
original  condition,  and  to-day  it  stands  as  it  was  in  the 
times  that  tried  men's  souls — perfect  in  all  its  patriotic 


i44  HISTORY   OF 

parts  and  surroundings.  During  the  regular  sessions  of 
the  Assembly,  the  Senate  sat  up  stairs  and  the  House  in 
Independence  Hall.  In  the  former,  Anthony  Morris,  facing 
north,  sat  as  Speaker.  In  the  other,  George  Latimer,  the 
Sp'eaker,  turned  his  face  to  the  west. 

During  the  Colonial  days  the  "State  House"  was  the 
scene  of  banqueting.  In  the  long  galley,  up  stairs,  the 
tables  were  spread.  The  wine  and  whirr  of  good  fellowship 
made  mirth  an  essence  of  existence.  In  1736,  William 
Allen  had  a  great  feast.  It  was  sumptuous  and  costly.  It 
was  spread  in  the  State  House.  All  distinguished  strangers 
were  present.  The  guests  exceeded  in  number  any  before 
seen  at  other  festivals  in  Philadelphia.  "For  excellency  of 
fare,"  we  are  told,  "it  was  a  most  elegant  entertainment." 
In  1756,  when  Governor  Denny  "came  over,"  there  was 
another  frolic  in  the  same  place,  "the  civil  and  military 
officers  and  the  clergy,"  who  were  gay  fellows  then,  being 
present:  and  that  harmonized  existing  antagonisms.  The 
next  year  Lord  London,  the  Colonial  Commander-in-Chief, 
was  banqueted,  and  municipal  hospitality  was  not  mean. 
"The  expenditures  were  greater  than  ever  before."  But  in 
1774,  when  the  First  Congress  met  at  Carpenters'  Hall, 
there  was  a  sumptuous  collation.  The  invited  guests  met 
at  the  City  Tavern,  and  marched  in  an  imposing  procession 
to  the  State  House,  where  the  banquet  was.  Five  hundred 
took  dinner.  When  the  toasts  were  given,  they  were  ren 
dered  patriotic  by  the  firing  of  cannon  and  martial  music. 
And  we  are  told  that  these  festive  occasions  exerted  salutary 
influences  upon  public  sentiment,  and  had  a  tendency  to 
develop  the  patriotism  of  the  people.  In  later  days,  Inde- 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL.  145 

pendence  Hall  was  used  as  a  store-room  for  legal  docu 
ments.  When  workmen  were  removing  the  old  wings  of 
the  State  House  a  keg  of  Indian  flints  was  dug  up.  In 
close  proximity  thereto  were  uncovered  the  complete  equip 
ments  of  a  sergeant,  musket,  cartouch-box,  sword,  buckles, 
&c.,  and  bombshells,  filled  with  powder,  were  exhumed 
amid  great  excitement.  These,  however,  were  walled  in 
when  the  present  foundation  was  built,  and  are  there  to 
day,  despite  dire  and  dreadful  prophecies  of  evil  omen. 

In  1802,  the  banqueting  rooms  up  stairs  were  granted 
to  Charles  Wilson  Peale  for  the  "Philadelphia  Museum," 
which  was  commenced  in  1784,  with  a  "paddle-fish"  from 
the  Ohio  river.  There  were  1700  mineralogical  and  1000 
conchological  specimens,  274  quadrupeds,  and  1284  birds, 
with  portraits  and  paintings  of  all  kinds,  and  interesting 
relics  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  Independence  Hall 
was,  in  its  time,  a  literary  as  well  as  a  social  centre.  The 
Philadelphia  Library  once  occupied  its  arcades,  having  been 
transferred  from  Pewter-platter  alley  thither,  in  1740.  After 
the  battle  of  Brandywine,  Independence  Hall  was  used 
as  a  hospital.  Therein  Washington  bade  farewell  to  public 
life,  and  delivered  that  memorable  address  which  will  ever 
be  cherished  as  a  sacred  legacy  by  his  countrymen.  In 
1824,  Lafayette  received  his  friends  in  Independence  Hall. 
Its  history  since  needs  not  recapitulation. 

INDEPENDENCE  SQUARE. 

Long  before  and  after  the  State  House  was  erected,  "the 
State    House   Yard,"    or   the   grounds    now    comprising    the 

MM 


i46  HISTORY   OF 

same,  were  exceedingly  uneven  and  were  known  as  "the 
whortle-berry  patch."  The  north  side  was  higher  than  now, 
but  the  south  side  being  low,  was  made  a  place  for  resi 
dences.  When  the  State  House  was  built,  these  were  torn 
down.  Originally,  the  Square  was  only  half  its  present 
size.  There  were  396  feet  on  Chestnut  street,  and  265  feet 
on  Fifth  and  Sixth  streets.  This  comprised  10,098  square 
feet,  or  two  acres,  one  rood,  and  ten  and  one-half  perches. 
In  this  condition  the  Square  remained  until  1760,  when  that 
part  fronting  on  Walnut  street  was  purchased.  This,  added 
to  its  dimensions,  made  the  enclosure  201,960  square  feet— 
396  feet  on  Walnut  and  Chestnut  streets,  and  510  feet  on 
Fifth  and  Sixth  streets.  On  the  Walnut  street  side  of  the 
Square,  an  antique  gate  was  erected,  with  a  brick  structure, 
by  Joseph  Fox,  and  about  that  time  on  Sixth  street  stood 
a  row  of  sheds  for  horses  of  the  country  folks  who  came 
to  town  to  attend  court.  Indians  used  to  loiter  therein,  and 
all  sorts  of  drinking  used  to  be  carried  on  there.  In  1784 
John  Vaughan  set  about  to  beautify  the  grounds.  He  sur 
veyed  the  spot,  planted  trees,  and  he  made  it  a  place  of 
public  resort.  He  introduced  Windsor  chairs  and  settees, 
and  contributed  largely  to  the  public  comfort.  More  than 
two  hundred  trees  of  various  kinds  constituted  the  canopy 
of  verdure  at  the  time  of  which  we  write.  After  "the  Dec 
laration,"  the  State  House  yard  was  christened  Independence 
Square. 

THE  OLD  BELL. 

In    the    passage  way  or  main    entrance,  and  at    the    foot 
of  the  old  stairway  is   the   Old  Bell   that,  with  a  thunderous 


INDEPENDENCE    HALL.  147 

thrill,  lifted  a  people  into  the  broad  atmosphere  of  Liberty 
and  Light — the  Old  Bell  that  proclaimed  "Liberty  through 
out  the  land  and  to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof!"  On  the 
completion  of  the  State  House,  a  clock  had  been  supplied 
and  set  at  the  west  end  of  the  building,  and  measures  were 
taken  to  secure  a  bell  in  1734.  In  1750  a  bell  of  the 
weight  of  2030  pounds  was  ordered,  and  in  1752  it  reached 
Philadelphia.  Great  joy  was  shown  by  the  people  who  went 
to  the  ship  with  many  congratulations,  before  it  was  landed. 
In  removing  it,  it  was  damaged.  It  had  to  be  recast. 
This  was  done  by  Pass  £  Stow,  under  the  direction  of 
Isaac  Norris,  speaker  of  the  Assembly.  It  was  he  who 
originally  suggested  the  motto:  "Proclaim  Liberty  throughout 
the  land — to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof."  He  pronounced 
the  bell  "a  good  bell,"  and  he  was  greatly  pleased  that 
"we  should  first  venture  upon  and  succeed  in  the  greatest 
bell  in  English  America."  During  the  Revolution,  this  and 
the  bell  at  Christ  Church  were  buried  in  the  Delaware,  near 
Trenton,  to  ke-ep  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
British,  and  in  this  condition  they  remained  from  1777  till 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  when  they  were  put  in  their 
old  places. 

As  a  relic  of  the  past,  "the  Old  Bell"  must  ever  remain 
a  hallowed  memento.1 

INTERIOR. 

"The  room  with  its  antique  wainscotting,  pillars,  cornices, 
etc.,  presents  to-day  the  same  general  appearance  as  it  did 
during  those  times  that  did  indeed  try  men's  souls.  The 
original  chandelier  still  hangs  there;  the  chair  which  was 

'Watson's  Annalls,  vol.  I.  page  398. 


148  HISTORY   OF 

occupied  by  the  President  is  restored  to  its  place  in  the 
dais;  in  front  stands  the  table  at  which  Hancock  wrote, 
and  on  which  the  Declaration  itself  reposed  after  it  was 
engrossed,  and  where  one  after  another  of  the  members 
of  Congress  came  forward  and  appended  his  signature. 
Near  by  is  a  chair  with  its  original  covering,  well  worn  in 
the  use  of  an  individual  member  of  the  Congress.  Two 
more  of  these  chairs,  though  unfortunately  newly  covered 
for  the  convenience  of  the  sergeants-at-arms  of  the  State 
Senate,  have  been  rescued  and  placed  on  the  floor.  On 
either  side  of  the  dais  are  ranged  portraits  of  the  following, 
or  spaces  therefor  (an  asterisk  denoting  in  each  case  the 
latter) : 

John   Hancock — The    President. 

Richard  Henry  Lee — The  mover  of  the  resolution  for 
Independence. 

*Benjamin     Harrison — The    Chairman    of    the    Committee 
of  the  Whole  who  reported  the  same. 

Thomas  Jefferson — The  author  of   the   Declaration. 
John  Adams — The  seconder    of   the    resolution,    and    the 
"Colossus  of  the   Debate." 

*Samuel  Adams — The  "Palinurus  of  the  Republic." 

*Robert  R.  Livingston    |    Of    the    committee  to  draft    the 

*Roger  Sherman  j     Declaration. 

Benjamin  Franklin,  Robert  Morris,  Bishop  White,  the 
Chaplain;  Charles  Thompson,  the  Secretary;  John  Dickin 
son,  Thomas  Heyward,  Samuel  Chase,  Elbridge  Gerry, 
*George  Wythe,  Edward  Rutledge,  Thomas  McKean, 
George  Read. 

On   the  opposite    panels    are  John    Witherspoon,  Charles 


INDEPENDENCE   HALL.  149 

Carroll,  Francis  Hopkinson,  Samuel  Huntington,  Philip  Liv 
ingston,  Benjamin  Rush,  Arthur  Middleton,  George  Clymer; 
with  spaces  for  Robert  T.  Paine,  John  Penn,  George  Ross, 
James  Smith,  Richard  Stockton,  Thomas  Stone,  George 
Taylor,  Matthew  Thornton,  George  Walton,  William  Whip- 
pie,  William  Williams,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Abraham  Clark, 
William  Ellery,  William  Floyd,  Joseph  Hewes,  William 
Hooper,  Stephen  Hopkins,  F.  L.  Lee,  Fran's  Lewis,  Thomas 
Lynch,  Lewis  Morris,  Thomas  Nelson,  William  Paca,  James 
Wilson. 

There  will  also  be  spaces  for  John  Rogers,  Thomas 
Johnson,  John  Jay,  Henry  Wisner,  Geo.  Clinton,  Thos. 
Willing,  Charles  Humphreys,  and  a  few  others. — "Actors." 

The  names  of  John  Morton,  Caesar  Rodney,  Carter  Brax- 
ton,  John  Hart,  and  such  others  of  the  above  whose  portraits 
were  never  taken,  will  be  appropriately  presented  in  some 
permanent  shape. 

Over  the  very  doorway  through  which  Washington  passed 
when  he  left  Congress  to  assume  those  duties  which  earned 
for  him  his  enduring  title  of  "First  in  \Var,  First  in  Peace, 
and  First  in  the  hearts  of  his  Countrymen,"  has  been  hung 
an  original  portrait  of  the  Pater  Patrice. 

Along  the  surbase  on  each  side  of  the  President's  chair, 
subordinated  to  the  general  design,  are  the  Presidents  of 
Congress  from  1774,  not  included  in  the  above  category, 
and  in  similar  positions  on  the  sides,  portraits  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  officers. 

The  draft  of  the  Declaration  in  Jefferson's  handwriting 
is  in  this  city,  in  the  possession  of  the  Philosophical  Society, 
most  admirably  framed  and  adapted  for  exhibition.  It  is 

NN 


INDEPENDENCE  HALL. 

hoped  the  society  will  be  induced  to  deposit  this  valuable 
relic  upon  the  table  in  the  Hall,  and,  also,  a  chair  which 
they  own,  which  was  used  by  the  "Delegates,"  and  which, 
like  the  one  deposited  by  the  writer  in  the  Hall,  contains 
the  original  covering.  Two  more  of  these  chairs  are  known 
of,  and  these  will,  it  is  believed,  be  also  ultimately 
restored."1 

1  History  of  Independence  Hall,  from  the  "  Penn  Monthly,"  by  F.  M.  Etting. 


THE  EXHIBI TION  B  UILDINGS.  1 5 1 


THE  EXHIBITION  BUILDINGS. 


The  Main  Buildings  erected  by  the  Building  Committee 
of  the  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,  for  the  uses  of  the 
Exhibition,  are  five  in  number,  admirably  located  so  that 
each  is  within  easy  distance  of  its  neighbor,  and  so  arranged 
that  parties  wishing  to  visit  one  department,  can  by  carriage 
or  horse  cars  arrive  directly  at  the  gate  opening  into  that 
department.  This  is  a  special  advantage  not  heretofore 
available  in  European  exhibitions.  These  buildings  will  be 
known  as  follows:  I.  Main  Exhibition  Building.  II.  Art 
Gallery.  III.  Machinery  Hall.  IV.  Horticultural  Building. 
V.  Agricultural  Building. 

I. 

MAIN  EXHIBITION  BUILDING. 

Engineers  and  Arcliitects:    HENRY  PETTIT,  Jos.  M.  WILSON. 

This  building  is  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  extend 
ing  east  and  west  1,880  feet  in  length,  and  north  and  south 
464  feet  in  width. 

The  larger  portion  of  the  structure  is  one  story  in 
height,  and  shows  the  main  cornice  upon  the  outside  at  45 
feet  above  the  ground,  the  interior  height  being  70  feet.  At 
the  centre  of  the  longer  sides  are  projections  416  feet  in 


MAIM    EXHIBITION    BLTILIDIMQ. 


MEMORIAL    HALL. 


THE  EXHIBITION  BUILDINGS. 


length,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  shorter  sides  or  ends  of 
the  building  are  projections  216  feet  in  length.  In  these 
projections,  in  the  centre  of  the  four  sides,  are  located  the 
main  entrances,  which  are  provided  with  arcades  upon  the 
ground  floor,  and  central  fagades  extending  to  the  height 
of  90  feet.  The  EAST  ENTRANCE  will  form  the  principal 
approach  from  carriages,  visitors  being  allowed  to  alight  at 
the  doors  of  the  building  under  cover  of  the  arcade.  The 
SOUTH  ENTRANCE  will  be  the  principal  approach  for  street 
cars,  the  ticket  offices  being  located  upon  the  line  of  ELM 
AVENUE,  with  covered  ways  provided  for  entrance  into  the 
building  itself.  The  MAIN  PORTAL  on  the  north  side  com 
municates  directly  with  the  ART  GALLERY,  and  the  MAIN- 
PORTAL  on  the  west  side  gives  the  main  passageway 
to  the  MACHINERY  and  AGRICULTURAL  HALLS. 

Upon  the  corners  of  the  building  there  are  four  towers 
75  feet  in  height,  and  between  the  towers  and  the  central 
projections  or  entrances  there  is  a  lower  roof  introduced, 
showing  a  cornice  placed  24  feet  above  the  ground. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  central  feature  for  the  building  as 
a  whole,  the  roof  over  the  central  part,  for  184  feet  square, 
has  been  raised  above  the  surrounding  portion,  and  four 
towers,  48  feet  square,  rising  to  120  feet  in  height,  have  been 
introduced  at  the  corners  of  the  elevated  roof. 

The  areas  covered  are  as  follows: 


Ground  Floor, 
Upper  Floors  in  projection, 
in  towers, 

OO 


872,320  square  feet.     20.02  acres. 

37-344     "  -85      " 

26,344     "          "  .60      " 


936,008 


21.47 


MAY  10™  TO  NOV€IT]B€R  10™  1870 


THE  EXHIBITION  BUILDINGS.  155 

II. 

ART  GALLERY  AND  MEMORIAL  HALL. 

Architect:    H.  J.  SCHWARZMANN. 

This  structure,  which  is  one  of  the  affixes  to  the  great 
Exhibition,  is  located  on  a  line  parallel  with  and  northward 
of  the  Main  Exhibition  Building. 

It  is  on  the  most  commanding  portion  of  the  great 
LANSDOWNE  PLATEAU,  and  looks  southward  over  the  city. 

It  is  elevated  on  a  terrace  six  feet  above  the  general 
level  of  the  plateau — the  plateau  itself  being  an  eminence 
116  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  Schuylkill  River. 

The  entire  structure  is  in  the  modern  Renaissance.  The 
materials  are  granite,  glass,  and  iron.  No  wood  is  used  in 
the  construction,  and  the  building  is  thoroughly  fireproof. 
The  structure  is  365  feet  in  length,  210  feet  in  width,  and 
59  feet  in  height,  over  a  spacious  basement  12  feet  in 
height,  surmounted  by  a  dome. 

III. 

MACHINERY  HALL 

Engineers  and  Architects :  HENRY  PETTIT,  Jos.  M.  WILSON. 
This  structure  is  located  west  of  the  intersection  of  Bel- 
mont  and  Elm  Avenues,  at  a  distance  of  542  feet  from  the 
west  front  of  the  Main  Exhibition  Building,  and  274  feet 
from  the  north  side  of  Elm  Avenue.  The  north  front  of 
the  Building  will  be  upon  the  same  line  as  that  of  the 
Main  Exhibition  Building,  thus  presenting  a  frontage  of 
3,824  feet  from  the  east  to  the  west  end  of  the  Exhibition 
Buildings  upon  the  principal  avenue  within  the  grounds. 


HORTICULTURAL     HALL 


THE  EXHIBITION  BUILDINGS.  157 

The  building  consists  of  the  Main  Hall,  360  feet  wide 
by  1,402  feet  long,  and  an  annex  on  the  south  side  of  208 
feet  by  210  feet.  The  entire  area  covered  by  the  Main 
Hall  and  annex  is  558,440  square  feet,  or  12.82  acres. 
Including  the  upper  floors,  the  building  provides  14  acres 

of  floor  space. 

IV. 

HORTICULTURAL   HALL. 
Architect:    H.  J.  SCHWARZMANN. 

The  liberal  appropriations  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
have  provided  the  Horticultural  Department  of  the  Exhibi 
tion  with  an  extremely  ornate  and  commodious  building, 
which  is  to  remain  as  a  permanent  ornament  of  Fair- 
mount  Park.  It  is  located  on  the  Lansdowne  Terrace,  a 
short  distance  north  of  the  Main  Building  and  Art  Gallery, 
and  has  a  commanding  view  of  the  Schuylkill  River  and 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  city.  The  design  is  in  the 
Mauresque  style  of  architecture  of  the  twelfth  century,  the 
principal  materials  externally  being  iron  and  glass.  The 
length  of  the  building  is  383  feet;  width,  193  feet,  and 
height  to  the  top  of  the  lantern,  72  feet. 

The  main  floor  is  occupied  by  the  central  conservatory, 
230  by  80  feet,  and  55  feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  lantern 
170  feet  long,  20  feet  wide,  and  14  feet  high.  Running 
entirely  around  this  conservatory,  at  a  height  of  20  feet  from 
the  floor,  is  a  gallery  5  feet  wide.  On  the  north  and  south 
sides  of  this  principal  room  are  four  forcing  houses  for  the 
propagation  of  young  plants,  each  of  them  100  by  30  feet, 
covered  with  curved  roofs  of  iron  and  glass.  Dividing  the 
two  forcing  houses  in  each  of  these  sides  is  a  vestibule  30 
pp 


158  THE  EXHIBITION  BUILDINGS. 

feet  square.  At  the  centre  of  the  east  and  west  ends  are 
similar  vestibules,  on  either  side  of  which  are  the  restau 
rants,  reception  room,  offices,  etc.  From  the  vestibules 
ornamental  stairways  lead  to  the  internal  galleries  of  the 
conservatory,  as  well  as  to  the  four  external  galleries,  each 
100  feet  long  and  10  feet  wide,  which  surmount  the  roofs 
of  the  forcing  houses.  These  external  galleries  are  con 
nected  with  a  grand  promenade,  formed  by  the  roofs  of 
the  rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  which  has  a  superficial  area 
of  i, 800  square  yards. 

The  east  and  west  entrances  are  approached  by  flights 
of  blue-marble  steps  from  terraces  80  by  20  feet,  in  the 
centre  of  each  of  \vhich  stands  an  open  kiosque  20  feet  in 
diameter.  The  angles  of  the  main  conservatory  are  adorned 
with  eight  ornamental  fountains.  The  corridors  which 
connect  the  conservatory  with  the  surrounding  rooms  open 
fine  vistas  in  every  direction. 

In  the  basement,  which  is  of  fire-proof  construction,  are 
the  kitchen,  store-rooms,  coal-houses,  ash-pits,  heating  ar 
rangements,  etc.  Near  this  principal  building  are  a  number 
of  structures,  such  as  the  Victoria  Regia  House,  Domestic 
and  Tropical  Orchard  Houses,  a  Grapery,  and  similar 
Horticultural  buildings.  The  surrounding  grounds  are 
arranged  for  out-door  planting,  and  an  imposing  and  in 
structive  display  is  made.  It  is  proposed  to  plant,  among 
other  things,  representative  trees  of  all  parts  of  the  Con 
tinent,  so  that  side  by  side  the  visitor  may  see  the  full 
variety  of  the  forest  products  and  fruits  of  the  country, 
from  the  firs  of  the  extreme  north,  to  the  oranges  and 
bananas  of  Florida,  and  the  wondrous  grapes  and  other 


THE  EXHIBITION  BUILDINGS.  159 

fruits  of  California.  In  this  great  work  it  is  important  that 
the  most  perfect  success  should  be  achieved,  so  that  that 
vastness  of  territory,  variety  of  product,  and  perfection  of 
species,  which  constitute  the  marvel  and  the  might  of 
America,  may  be  displayed  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  realized 
at  a  glance.  This  building  is  to  cost  $251,937. 

V. 

AGRICULTURAL  BUILDING. 

Architect:   JAMES  H.  WINDRIM. 

This  structure  stands  north  of  the  Horticultural  Build 
ing,  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  Belmont  Avenue.  It 
will  illustrate  a  novel  combination  of  materials,  and  is  capa 
ble  of  erection  in  a  few  months.  Its  materials  are  wood 
and  glass.  It  consists  of  a  long  nave  crossed  by  three 
transepts,  both  nave  and  transept  being  composed  of  Howe 
truss  arches  of  a  Gothic  form.  The  nave  is  826  feet  in 
length  by  100  feet  in  width,  each  end  projecting  100  feet 
beyond  the  square  of  the  building,  with  a  height  of  75  feet 
from  the  floor  to  the  point  of  the  arch.  The  central  tran 
sept  is  of  the  same  height,  and  has  a  breadth  of  100  feet; 
the  two  end  transepts  are  70  feet  high  and  80  feet  wide. 

The  four  courts  inclosed  between  the  nave  and  tran 
septs,  and  also  the  four  spaces  at  the  corners  of  the  building, 
having  the  nave  and  end  transepts  for  two  of  their  sides, 
are  roofed  and  form  valuable  spaces  for  exhibits.  Thus 
the  ground  plan  of  the  building  is  a  parallelogram  of 
465  by  630  feet,  covering  a  space  of  seven  and  one  quarter 
acres.  In  its  immediate  vicinity  are  the  stock-yards  for 
the  exhibition  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  poultry,  etc. 


160  AUTOGRAPHS  OF  7 'HE  SIGNERS. 

COLLECTORS  OF  AUTOGRAPHS  OF  THE  SIGNERS. 

The  arrangement  of  the  names  indicates  the  priority 
of  excellence.  Dr.  T.  A.  Emmet,  New  York;  Rev.  Dr. 
Sprague,  Albany;  Almond  W.  Griswold,  New  York  State 
Library,  Albany,  New  York;  Dr.  Charles  G.  Barney,  Vir 
ginia;  Ferdinand  J.  Dreer,  Esq.,  Philadelphia;  R.  Coulton 
Davis,  Esq.,  Philadelphia;  Simon  Gratz,  Esq.,  Philadelphia; 
Theodorus  Bailey  Myers,  Esq.,  New  York;  E.  H.  Leffingwell, 
Esq.,  New  Haven;  Brantz  Mayer,  Esq.,  Baltimore;  L.  J. 
Cist,  Esq.,  St.  Louis;  Joseph  J.  Mickley,  Esq.,  Philadelphia; 
Mrs.  Z.  Allen,  Providence;  Mellen  Chamberlain,  Esq., 
Boston;  F.  M.  Etting,  Esq.,  Philadelphia;  Alfred  B. 
Taylor,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 

Many  inquiries  have  been  made  relative  to  the  collection  of  the  Queen 
of  England.  These  inquiries  arose  from  the  criticism  on  the  "  Book  of  the 
Signers"  which  appeared  in  the  "Press"  on  November  8th,  1860:  "Queen 
Victoria's  collection,  which  we  have  seen  in  the  Private  Library  at  Windsor 
Castle,"  etc.  Being  desirous  of  furnishing  all  the  information  possible,  a 
letter  was  written  to  the  distinguished  author,  Theodore  Martin,  C.  B.,  and 
the  following  is  from  his  letter  to  the  author  of  this  work,  dated  London, 
June  2 ist,  1875:  "In  his  last  letter  to  me,  General  Ponsonby,  her  Majesty's 
Private  Secretary,  says:  'When  Mr.  Brotherhead  sent  a  volume  through  the 
Foreign  Secretary  in  1861,  he  said,  "Your  Majesty  already  possesses  nearly 
a  complete  set  of  the  original  autographs  of  the  Signers."  I  can  find  no 
trace  of  this  set  of  autographs,  nor  can  I  ascertain  that  the  Queen  possessed 
any  of  their  autographs.'"  And  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  from  General 
Ponsonby,  dated  July  25th,  1875,  Buckingham  Palace,  he  further  says:  "The 
librarian  assures  me  that  no  such  collection  is  in  the  library,  and  his  further 
search  has  confirmed  him  in  his  opinion,  that  the  Queen  never  did  possess 
these  autographs.  He  also  inquired  at  the  British  Museum,  but  no  trace  of 
any  such  collection  can  be  found."  It  is  for  the  critic  of  the  "  Press"  to 
settle  this  matter  with  General  Ponsonby ;  we  have  done  our  duty,  and  on 
the  authority  of  her  Majesty's  Private  Secretary  we  make  the  record  that 
her  Majesty  does  not  possess  such  a  collection  of  the  autographs  of  the 
Signers  as  the  critic  of  the  "  Press"  positively  said  he  saw  in  the  Private 
Library  of  her  Majesty,  at  Windsor. 


THE:  DESK  ON  WHICH  THE  DECLARATION  OF  i NDIPLNDINCC 

WAS  WRITTEN    AND    THRCCOFTHE    SIGNERS    CHAIRS. 


.  OF  JOHN   HANCOCK, 

ffOSTO  N    ,     MASS- 


f^.     &*/?^< 

*  *  » 


. 

F 


H  J  Tomh-ftlo  .SV«MiI.ith 


165 


JOSIAH  BARTLETT. 


//v  ;«f  fossfssion  or  F-J-  ff/f££f?. 


107 


PCS. Of  CfN^    WfWHIPPLE. 

rH,  N  H    MOW  RCS  or  C.H  t*DD,fsa. 


in   THE   POSStffS/CV    Or  ff.  CoViTOM 


RES  .Or  MATTHEW      THORHTON, 
THL     T1MC  or  7HC    D[C»   OF   IHO  ?.    DCfUf    V  H 


•  ^ 


rwr  possess/or*  or   f.J. 


171 


eh 


H  .1  TiMiih-SCo  .S.eaniLilM>^3t'QninifrcH  H 


SAMUEL   ADAMS. 


"  **  s~rs*s-**Sf*n-f^s's*^-'\^7-s*r*t;oc4s^f>'  fe't^^s?^-^*^^'^'*^^*';.;'*^'?*',^''  *^jC^ 

^J&™r,/£*-  ^  <£  S~S>f<X~  *4r*~S<*~~#  S'*2  '^/tZ^,^ 
***~*>+**y4&r^~  ^^''^'''S'^^'SZz'ZZ  >x^T<^^ 

,'/**  ,s*JZ,^£<-  -"**  '<**-  >  ^  ^-^-^X 

~sZ, »+'  *~J /*~*~~r~*5~Z. 

5^T     *r  J*/"  sr.ftrrr^  ** 
'     **£~'~Sf* 
^^£fr-~^ 

*<^~ 


175 


/ 

cr~**Vc«>' 


i. 


i**       ^-XJ^r 


tff  •tm-r-4.t<*s**r      "Yisr  U4_£, 
\<j?4ju«*rc*£     Ay  & 
yS—  «-K     •/%<     XT^O-v  /£  <r<~Tuu 


176 


Jr*t*t+nd 


/H   THE  POSSfSS'OV    Or  ff.  CoUi  TON   DA  f/S , 


THE  BIRTH    PLACES    OF    JOHN  AND   JOHN    QUINCYADAMS. 

AT     QU I  V  CX   ,  MA  SS  . 


177 


R. TREAT  PAINE: 


f.  COULTON 


179 


ELBRIDQE  GERRY. 


"* 


I*  THE  possession  or  F.J.  Dfrcc*.  £s« 


CLMWOOO,    FORMERLY    THE   RCS  .  Or  EL8RI D6E    QKRY  . 
CAMBRIDGE ,  MASS.   NO*  QfS  OF  JUS.RUISCU-    LOWELL    THfPOU. 


181 


Me-iimLitt 


183 


MONUMENT     Of    STCPH£N    HOPKINS. 

PROVI  DCNCE.    n  .  ! 


STEPHEN  HOPKINS. 


In  THE  rossessiON  or  F.J,  Dfrcc* 


185 


WILLIAM  ELLERY. 


ff 


r- 


smf^  ^ 


CIIII  IBM  !  f  1  ?Iit'«  ttriiBEir     •  n  » »»i  n  M 


H  JTu 


ROGER  SHERMAN. 


^^^-OQ_*^  ^KjTTtfi 


190 


r^\        \ 


//v  r//£  possession  or    F.J,  fl/?E£/pt  £s« 


RES  .  or  Roacp  SHERMAH, 

HEW    HAVEN  ,    CONN  . 


191 


SAMUEL.  HUNTINGTON. 


'     &*"- 


/V  THE    "OSSfSSlOH    Of  ft. 


D*V/S  . 


RES.    Or    S.  HUNT  INGTON  , 

NORWICH    ,    COHU. 


a? 
' 


•       I 


™*-  * 


*< 


193 


in    ,.     Ji 

RES      Of    W M  . 

i.£BA  VCA/  ,  COW 


>>Wx»      -X^>~-*'    fg&Z^X^' 


X"     '-x 

>~*^l  ^. 


2r 
~sf~Zr<~  ^"S"< 

**~^-     4^*-    4Sr^m**~i    s~*-^r/i*-f  St&^iZ^ 


^-x^-**X,  <^^^t 

^Z*£>;* 


195 


OLtV£R  WO  LOOT  T 


RES  .or  OLIVER   woi-corr 

SOUTH   ST.    LITCHFI  CLO  ,  CO-VAT. 


(7 


^  ^ 


197 


H  .1  Tniuh -&(«•  .Ste:nnl.iU> 


19!) 


201 


PHIL:  UWN6STONE 


t. 


iJL- 

'44*1  \?/<k--  V&l-** 
df  jilS  tl*p#t 

A    <\  "th 

L£t*~   ify* ''-•    /f^y<x< 

<}W'fo^JwJL+4f  diL^fadL  *l  &Y  U^^  ^AteAfffy- 
M^tf^t^^CLM*  i<>tJww&  #€*<  C&rfirdltowf**  n*~ 

1/7       ^J 
JlfaGUtUL/UJ* 

,M>U*(Jh 

p 


M[yrwi*+t,lYf\JL<U''.       l*'U~**'t^~\/lri*f-/ri** 

fusfamvjuvt,  fai^f  b"m  (U*dt 


FPOM  THE  COLLECTION  of  F.  M.  ETTING  ESQ. 


203 


t-C'tJ  A>S  V"  ^Su^i  & 


fzt-f  f/T-  S/7Z- 


LEWIS  MORR/S 


Xy^o-  #ays  *-y*  ^^fc^^J^K^***^,  /^ 


/H  THE   POSSfSSION    Or  f.J.  D/?£Eff, 


207 


-^v*v.. 


•  *  •  r  r  i      SMMpif*  •  *>.!•»*  •  F  • 

>«tnrrtmii>;;*;«.« 


209 


RES.  OF    H.STOCXTON 


/? 


T 

A-*?/  4lS€~~4!&Z. 


/T-    .^^-, 


r 


<**^Z-/^<.*-^_  s*£L^S^£~t 

^ 


£*sS 


<^<^t-y 
/ 


^&t-^iL    .£^£o>  t^Lr^   ^^, 


^7^ 


^*~^ 


s 


211 


^12 


//v 


RES.  Of  f-RAHC£S    HOPK1NSOM 


FfiAA/CES    HOPKINSON. 


•7^  y 


x  ^ 


•<  ^  £-*_->,       /-    <  .-^-c     x^^^^P 


213 


ONUMCMT  or  JOHN 


215 


21 ; 


A.  CLARK 


218 


. 


J  &***'  •£***, 


• 


r 


ft-/z/<a£TH  co. M.J, 


/v 


or  SIMON  G  ft  ATI 


219 


221 


WASH/HUTCH'S  MA  MS/ OK 

/9O  MARKE  r  STRUT 


ft.  MOft/t/S  ' 
S-  f  CO/t.  6TH4MAfitf£7-STS. 
fM/t  AD£LPM/A 


*^  •  '24.vr?6 


A~ 


*/  A*  <79'r-Ki&t^.      C/^Mf     ^<  /^« 


fOSffiS.'OV    Or    S/MON   GftATZ 


223 


MANSION'  fief,  or  ox.e 

THt  TIME  Of  HIS  DEATH 

MO  9t  SOUTH  +  TH   S7RfE.TfMII.ADA. 


.      ,^~^C*^0-*L.     X^^, 


IN  rh£  COLLECTS*  of-  jos. 

A  MAKSHALL  COLLEBC, 


THE  HOUSE  /M  WH/CH    0£ffJ.  WAN  KLIN    WAS  BOfiH 
MIL*   STfCtT  HOUSe,  eOSTO/v. 


225 


~£~*~  _  C/*^       4^ 


THC  rossess/oN  or 

SIMON  GRAT2  £SQ. 


BURIAL   PLAC£  Or  BENJ.   FXAMHL/N 

S-t.COf.Of  S.TH.it  AfCM  STS.    fHILAOA. 


227 


.  Of  JOHH 


CO  PA 


c/  C 


«<J* 

/ 


f*—/ 


J  jA 


Q 


*/  >  t3 


£./ 


(00    »1S 

+ 


'-s. 


THE  POSSESS/OH  Of  BAfLCY  MY£XS  £SQ. 


229 


.  OF  fffO/fffl    CLYMER 

CHCSNUT  sr  NIA*  rr*. 


/A^    /t^J2  <H&-  #.  tx^,/^^^K    £     'fs^-j^-'-s*  *•*•*•    /&<- 

>   ^  /    s,  s/       /*  / 

*-/    4,-      'A  +C<      /A-4Ti^       (/-*     fa* 


'^* 


ts 


>£        '//      / 

^t*e*ts  t^s-ts'Sfi,      A.  f-ci~ts 


£0 


/ 


S     £&' 


fcee^        S0    C** 


/'• 


V*-*s 


~ 


, 


'< 


/Vft" 


o     K   •* 

*"**-*     Cfvy*'**' 


10     ' 


*?' 


•/~ 


^   %* 
AT  //U^t. 


rt 


*p 

~~ 


/\^t. 


<r 


>-      /vt*  ^        V-ets*ls*<-*~~rv 


//v  r/vr  POSSESSION  -or  ft.  COULTO/V  DAV/S£SQ. 


Jh^' 

*£s+S£<r--> 


HCS/OCHCC 


ys 


' 


^^7^'^^}^^ 

-,  *&a/^  OH&L/L*, f'(Z<^J 
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m — — .      ix--  »••-'—  — »—    tmr      c«x  ^'  fSf&l£p~&&f*'7l^f    £f*-*fT4&7rt&+l*> 

•/n*ca/^<iye*~at/Mr~*/  ffrtjf&'TvrAywr—} 
'jL/s         ^  _  //      _^—.  ^^ 


TLerrCt*'  '   ^^&*Jf> 
}<^-^aoC-^^t^ 


Ift  Tff£/>0SS£SS/O/V  OFSIMOM  GfiATZ  £S Q. 


233 


.    Of   GFORGZ   TAYiOX 

H  C.COA     fCKAYiCfTM.ST.  CJtSTON  fA. 


— ~^~ 


IN  THE  fOSS£SSfO/V  Of  S/UON  GfiATZ     ESQ.. 


235 


.  OF  vMS.  W/iSOA/  "FOAT  WtLSOM" 

s.  w,  COP.  THJXD  st  WAL.vur  srs. 


/%<-S 


111  THE  POSSESS/OH  OF  SIMON    G  ft  AT 2.     £SQ  , 


X^x  /'??&£' 

s<4/%r 


Of  GEORGE  ROSS 

LANCASTER    PA. 


237 


**si/~*< — 


^*^- 


^^-x  /^ 


MJ  *£ 


t  A^J 


&t^\jt^>  yV^*-^-^      ^-^-ti-J.^-^-^e-^It 
/'  ^*^~ 

C^ZS       ^ 


/?  / 

-T^^-x^^-e^V 

U     ^     X 


jT 


IN   THE  POSSESSION  Or  SJMOM  6KAT7.   ESQ. 


r 


H  J.ToudrttUi  StBamlwi 


RES    .  Of    C^SAff     RODNEY, 


possession  of  ft.  COULTOM  a*v/s  ESQ. 


MANSION  OF  GEORGE  RCAO 


~.^£~ 

£j34l~—&y 

*L.  fyr-sffxy&s*  ^_^_-2  zSr^—  4?^-  «&• 


•^Tjf 


THC  POSSZSS/OA,'  OF  ft.  COULTQN  OAVJS 


\  KIGUXK  OS'  THE   DTSCI.AKATION  OF  TSI'EPENi.KNJE. 
JVNDA  FKAMKK  OP  TH^  COXSTT'J'ITTION    Of  TH£  UNJTKJt  rfTATKS. 


HOUSE: ,    Pcs.oreov.  THOMAS 


£     THIRD      ST       PH  !  LADCLP  H  <A  . 

-^fe^ivVw-*^^ 


4r^a^f^  ^^^^^^^.'^a^'' 

/  ^^^W^X^^^'^ 
//      ^. 


^ 


*• 


^^/^^ 


245 


il  ln-\x'  Bmdwriwad 


ftj 


.Slcainl.ilh 


or   juoac    SAMUEL   CHASE 

BALTIMORE   ,      MO 


24:7 


?' 


Z&&. 


POSSZSS/0/V  Of  fi.COULTONOAV/S  £SO- 


249 


In 


THiPossessioN  ofCiMOM  ff/>*Tz£s<i 


251 


CHARLES     CARROLL    Or    CARROLLTON 

MD 


^^7 


^^f^t^ 


^  >5 


IN  THE  POSSESSION  or  Siuo 


255 


-.•-.    •        '. 

r-jt        - 


II.  .,     ,«l'l/WI! 
•'i"t,U *'" '"''•' 


l  bjrw  Brothnrheod 


II  J.TiMldv.Vl  n  Mc-.-inil.ill' 


35-7 


GEORGE    WYTHE 


CX£< 


259 


a/ft  TH  PLACE  OF  R.H.LEE  «,  fXANC/S  LISHrfOOT  i££ 

HOUSf 


fiS'-if  0.' 


of  THOMAS  ^f rrtnsoN  MONT/CELLO 


THC  HOUSE  IN    WHICH    THOf  JCFFfftSOH 
HROTt  THtOfCLAKATIOn  Or  IHOeftHOrH  Cl, 

S.H.COR  p'.»  a  MA/rxrr  srs.  PHII.  . 


THC  Possession  Of  f.  J.  DKf£ 


263 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON 


/Z- 


~S^s 


flES.  OF  BENJA.MIM  HARRISON 

BERKLEY       /A 


IN  THC.  Possession  or  f.J  Da  fen 


ftfS.  Of  THOMAS  NfiSOt/  JA. 


!H  THePossfssio*  Of  FJDfucR  fsf 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  R.H.  LEE  t,  FRAHC/S  LIGHTrOOT  LCE 

HOOSC 


^S>^^f  ^ 


ftS<**    -^W 

•^* 


^^Z^LS  ^i^    ^0  ,x^i 
^fc*^<£ *&£~+^t£r+3.  S<+ 


In  THE  fossfss/ox  OF  R  Coi/i  TON  OA  v 


269 


K£S.OF  CARTf*    BXJXTON 


*2.    S? 


0-+^}      ~O, 


•       -^W^^_^-*    *r 


•*'»'       ZZr 


'  THC  Posse  jj/o*  of  Si  MO  ft  GAA  rz  /j-^7 


271 


J)>-sieneil  In-U'Brotherhead . 


H  ./  Tumlv.'rUi  .sh'.iinl.iUi 


JOSEPH  HEWES 


^?  tL~s^^£ 


c 

THcPoSStSf/0*  Of  A .COU!.TOV 


273 


RES.  Of  \HM  .  HOOPER 


^ 


£^-~* 


y 

^*.         //SL 


^ 


THE  POSSESSION  OF  SIM  OH  £ft*rz  fs<?. 


277 


RE S  .  OF   JOHN    PEMN. 

NC    NOW   DfSTH 


>£    /c^C^ 


S 


s  I/     ^ 

4^<f>    .     •SL-*^*' 


fox  or  ALr*eo  B.  TA  YLQ*  Es? 


279 


H  .1  Ti.mlvM1.'  Sii-.inil.iili 


281 


ACS.  Of  £DW°  HHTL£DGC 

.  CMAALfS-rOH  3.C. 


IX 


/T 


/»    /t^y      y"£~~s 


HI S    Cf   THOMti  H 

GHARLCSTOWH    SC. 


/>v  THC  Possession  OF  fJOficcR  £141 


I/  C*<~ 


THOS.  I.YA/CH  JUN' 


rf    -e^t^^-t^y 


/. 


*•*** 


i? 


., 
st\~*^r        /^ffL^c^     &0     rf.t 


c^> 


/*•  THC  PosscsftoM  of  OK.  TH 


irn: 


»£&.  Of  Aft  THUft  WDDLETOM 
'A  MILEf   FROM   CHAALCSTON  S.C, 


1  ]/Us</ 

V 


^e^c 


£+--^^+^1 
^_ 

-^l*4^<-*£i  <_SPr-      Sfb*'**^' 


L-^^e^-^y^Y    . 


1^L       c'/  /£  fi<^^  £**yts&^r 
/         xO  ;/? 


/^L  ^^r<2k^ 


/AO^^^^^S^? 


oc/tt  i>j  WHICH  BUTTON  OWINHCTT  is  HILLED   ir 
COL.  LACHLA.N  M^/NTOSH. 


"  ~~~"'"  ~  ~'  ™'   I 

""'*•"•" 


G  E  0  R  G  I  A. 

E  CONDITION  of  the  above  Obligation  is  fuch, 
That  if  ihc  above-bound 


r/^ 

Heirs,  Executors,  or  Adminiftrators,  or  any  of  them,  fhall 
and  do  well  and  truly  pay,  or  caule  to  be  paid,  unto  the 
above-named  , 


Executors,  Administrators,  or  AfTigns,  the  full  and  juft  ^ 

Sum  ot-fl&tU.  rtU'Hyi^&}wJujciifaftL&faiMw&^^ 

ItLttiCUSi 


L'tfOi 

without 


Fraud  or  further  Deldy,  then  this  Obligation  to  be  void  and 
of  none  Effeft,  or  elieto  remain  in  full  Force  and  Virtue. 


Signed,  Sealed,  and  Delivered, 
i&,  the  Prejence  of 


/*  r»£  Possess/ox  of  fJ  ORCCR  fsf 


291 


THE  MONUMENT  ON  GKEEHE  ST. 

AS  SCEf,  fAOM  SKOADST.  AUSUSTA  &*. 


L.rUAN  HALL 


*sL/£' *r-AaJ 


A-  r*i- POSSESS/OH  OF  R.  COULTOH  DAVIS  £st> 


THf  OLC  HlS/3t.\IC£Of    6£OA&£ 
AUGUSTA    tfU.  S£>HM£ALV  MMOWAS     AS 
"MEADOW 


^^sfc^L^ 


fae— 

/&*&£ 


<7 

•£^t^ls? — <-y  ^v 


GEORGE   WALTON 


fts&&/  2*^4^  ^t^^y 


£^f^/£>  y'Jt*-*4i^'^& 


<^~+ 


THcPosSEssfOM  OF  FJ.DRCCR  fsf. 


RESIDENCE  Of  CHARLES   THDMSON 

NCA* 
SLCHETAR-f  f/XST AMCH/CAtS  CONGflfSS 


^u/w^ 


IN  me  POSSESSION  OF    SIM  OH  GHATZ  £sp. 


A.  P.  BROTHERHEAD 

RESPECTFULLY  SOLICITS  THE  CUSTOM  OF 


IN  SEABGH  OF  OLD 


He  has  a  Large  and  Extensive  Assortment  always  on  sale. 

Libraries  of  books  in  any  quantity,  or  parcels  of  any  si/e,  lie  is  always  ready  to  pay  cash  for  any 
amount. 

Old  rare  American  books  he  will  pay  good  prices  for,  and  solicits  special  attention  to  them. 

Autographs  of  distinguished  persons,  and  especially  of  the  early  Revolutionary  times  of  America, 
realize  fair  prices,  for  which  he  willpay  cash.  Address 

A.  P.  BROTHERHEAD, 

Solatia   lOtli    Stx'oot, 


SANDERSON'S  BIOGRAPHY 


— OF   THE — 


Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 

REVISED   AXD   EDITED 

BY    XtOBEIfcT    T.    OOIVIfc-AJD, 

Author  of  "Jack  Cade,"  &c.,  &c. 

Illustrated  with  Sixty  Engravings  from  Original  Photographs  and  Drawings  of  the  Residences  of 
the  Signers,  &c.,  on  India  paper,  mounted:   to  which  is  added  an  historical  account  of  the  Rcs)<l<-n<-,s 

NOT  PREVIOUSLY  PUBLISHED. 

BY   WILLIAM   BROTHERHEAD, 

Author  of  the  "  Book  of  the  Signers,"  "Centennial  Book  of  the  Signers,"  &c. 

This  work  is  printed  on  fine  paper,  in  a  superior  style — a  Large  Quarto  volume  of  8oO  pag  •-. 
For  private  illustration,  the  most  comprehensive  work  in  print,  covering  the  most  interesting  periods 
before,  during  and  after  the  Revolution  of  Seventy-six. 

ONLY   ONE   HUNDRED   AND   SIXTY   COPIES   PRINTED. 

The  work  was  published  by  subscription  at  $15.00  per  copy,  in  paper  covers,  uncut. 
A  few  copies  for  sale  at  subscription  price  by 

E.    I3^XmiIVGTOIV? 

915  South  13th  Street,  Philadelphia. 


"  The  most  characteristic  Memorial  Volume  of  the  birth  of  our  glorious  Republic  ever  issued" 


THE 


BOOK   OF    THE   SIGNERS, 


BY 


(LIBRARIAN,) 
Author  of  the  "  Book  of  the  Signers,"  etc  , 

WILL  BE  ONE  OF  THE 

MOST  ATTRACTIVE  NATIONAL  WORKS  EVER  ISSUED. 


The  work  will  be  printed  with  the  greatest  care,  from  new  type,  on  heavy  toned  and  calendered  paper  cf  the  finest  quality, 
and  will  be  issued  at  a  price  sufficiently  low  to  warrant  an  immense  and  truly  national  circulation.  The  work  will  embrace 
the  following  features,  in  the  artistic  development  of  which  no  expense  or  care  has  been  spared  to  bring  it  to  a  stage  of 
unequalled  interest  and  unrivalled  beauty  : 

FAO  SIMILE  LETTERS  OF  EACH  OF  THE  SIGNERS  of  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence,  each  letter  being- 
printed  directly  from  the  original,  and  every  letter  illustrated  with  one  or  more  engraved  portraits,  views,  etc.,  with  appropriate 
descriptive  matter;  many  of  the  portraits  and  views  appearing  here  for  the  first  time,  and  from  photographs  or  drawings  of 
the  subject  made  expressly  for  the  purpose. 

THIRTEEN  ORIGINAL  NATIONAL  DESIGNS,  allegorical,  emblematical  and  realistic,  with  a  finely-engraved  view,  colored 
by  hand,  of  the  principal  city  of  each  of  the  original  Thirteen  States;  also  accompanied  by  full  descriptive  matter. 

A  HISTORICAL  MONOGRAPH,  comparing  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the  former  colonies,  illustrating  the  progress 
made  in  all  directions  within  the  completed  century. 

HISTORY  OF  INDEPENDENCE  HALL. — A  full  and  interesting  sketch  of  the  scene  of  the  signing  of  the  American 
Declaration,  with  engravings  showing  both  interior  and  exterior  views  of  the  venerable  building. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE,  giving  the  origin,  the  preparation,  and  the  consummation  of 
this  immortal  instrument. 

A  HISTORY  OF  EACH  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  THIRTEEN  STATES. 
A  BRIEF  BIOGRAPHY  OF  EACH  SIGNER. 

A  FULL  AND  CRITICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  VARIOUS  PORTRAITS  of  the  Signers,  accompanied  by  the  names  of  the 
several  Painters  and  Engravers. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION,  with  illustrations  and  descriptive  matter. 

Tlie  whole  forming  a  Work  of  the  most  comprehensive  and  picturesque  character,  and  of  a  rare  historical  interest,  war 
ranting  a  position  unrivalled  by  any  other  publication  of  the  day. 

CONDITIONS. 

The  work  will  embrace,  in  connection  with  the  above  features,  87  Fine  Illustrations,  and  13  full  page  Colored  National 
Designs ;  will  be  complete  in  20  Parts,  containing  about  an  equal  number  of  pages,  each  part  being  bound  in  an  attractive 
manner,  and  delivered  to  subscribers  at  50  cts.  per  part. 

Complete  in  20  Parts,  at  50  cents  per  part,  payable  on  delivery. 

J.  M.  ST  ODD  ART  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
723  Chestnut  Street, 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


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